SADLY, people who avail of hospital services these days routinely expect to be put on a waiting list for some sort. It's a symptom of the times. However, patients who are already stressed by the impact of economic recession should at least be able to feel safe and secure in a hospital.
One group of patients remains resolutely indifferent to cutbacks and the under-resourcing of services.
They ignore calls to put up with delays and wait their turn. Babies are stubborn creatures who demand attention on their own terms, not according to a roster and budget set down by the Health Service Authority.
Yet it appears women no longer have the comfort of security when they go in to have their babies.
Instead, as we report today, mothers and babies enter a bewildering and troubling environment, with pregnant women queuing to get into overcrowded labour wards.
By their nature, maternity hospitals find it nigh impossible to comply with instructions to reduce services and cut back on staff, especially in the middle of a baby boom.
Correspondence revealed today shows that doctors and managers in Dublin's maternity hospitals have been pleading with the HSE to introduce safety improvements immediately, and not to wait for moves which are planned for years from now.
©Independent.ie
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