Kilkenny mothers invited to take part in survey of maternity services

NEW mothers in Kilkenny will be asked to take part in Ireland’s first survey of maternity care. It aims to  capture the experiences of new mothers from prenatal and antenatal care through to postnatal care.

Women who have recently given birth will be asked about their experiences of the maternity services. St Luke’s is one of the hospitals where patients will be surveyed.

Announcing the project, Health Minister Simon Harris said he hopes his department can learn from the experiences of patients and bring about real improvements in the quality of maternity care.

The National Maternity Survey will take place early next year. It follows the National Patient Experience Survey which will run this May for the third year in succession. So far, over 26,000 patients across the country have taken part, submitting more than 40,000 comments.

The director of the National Patient Experience Survey, Rachel Flynn, explained how the maternity survey would work. She said: “In August of last year, HIQA commenced a programme of monitoring against the National Standards for Safer Better Maternity Services. All 19 maternity units in public hospitals will have been inspected against the national standards by the end of this year.

“The National Maternity Survey is another key building block in the development of a maternity service that is responsive to the needs of women and their families, ensuring that they are treated with dignity, respect and compassion at all times.”