Public consultation on National Maternity Strategy

Minister for Health Leo Varadkar has launched the public consultation process for the new National Maternity Strategy. He has called on members of the public, and especially patients, to make their views known to the Department of Health about what they would like to see in the new strategy.

The strategy will aim to ensure that women in Ireland have access to safe, high quality maternity care in a setting which is most appropriate to their needs.

Minister Varadkar said, “ The maternity services have come under much public scrutiny recently. There is a clear need to provide reassurance in terms of safety, quality and choice, and I want to hear the views of patients and members of the public in these areas.

“In recent weeks, I have heard some horrific accounts of first hand experiences, while others have been full of praise for the service they received. So we would like to find out what areas do we need to improve, and how can we do this?”

The consultation process will be fed into the Maternity Strategy Group. The consultation process is open to everyone and will run until Wednesday, July 15. A link to the consultation can be found at www.bit.ly/1GekcQp.