Two women make complaints against Portlaoise maternity unit
Both women have made complaints to the HSE regarding their experience. File image
TWO women have expressed ‘deep concerns’ with the maternity unit at Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise (MRHP).
One of the women has suffered two miscarriages in the past year, while the second had her first baby at the hospital.
The women, who wish to remain anonymous as they hope to go on to future pregnancies with MRHP, as it is their closest hospital, sent a letter to the which details their ‘shock and disappointment’ at the quality of maternity care provided.
The first woman (Woman A) suffered a miscarriage last year. She says the staff in the hospital were caring, professional and conscientious. However, she says she was given no follow up and felt isolated and alone after losing her baby.
She recently suffered another miscarriage and still cannot find help after her loss, she says, adding that a good friend of hers had a miscarriage in Kilkenny and was seen numerous times by a bereavement midwife, provided with excellent follow up care and was provided links with perinatal mental health support.
Woman A says that, when she asked staff in Portlaoise if she could be referred to bereavement and mental health support, she was told that there was no midwife in the post.
Woman A believes MRHP is not adhering to national standards, as set out by the ‘HSE National Standards for Bereavement Care Following Pregnancy Loss and Perinatal Death, 2022’, which states that parents should be offered access to bereavement supports following such a loss.
The second woman (Woman B) had her first baby in MRHP in 2024. She says she is ‘deeply traumatised’ by the events that occurred and the standard of care she received.
She says there is an incredible staff team in Portlaoise and she received exceptional care in the midwives-led clinic during her low-risk pregnancy.
On arrival in labour, however, she was placed on an admission cardiotocography (CTG). An IV was placed in her hand with no reason given, she says, and when she asked why, she was told it was “routine”.
Woman B says she had planned for a birth with little intervention but was met with “undertrained staff”, who “either could not or would not help her through her contractions”.
She says there was no birthing pool in the unit and she was often left alone with her partner while experiencing contractions. She says she wanted to use the shower, but a piece of equipment was in the bathroom and could not be moved.
She claims she was placed on a CTG for no reason and was made to give birth on her back, she says, and though she didn't have an epidural, she was forced to stay there until her baby was born. More traumatising than this, she says, was the "cell-like" postnatal ward, with "women cramped into space with old-fashioned beds, no ventilation, no air conditioning and no help overnight".
She claims she tried to breastfeed but was never given support overnight. Her baby lost weight and needed blood tests, all due to lack of staff at night. When asked for follow up with a perinatal mental health midwife, she was told the hospital does not have one, and to contact her GP instead.
Both women have contacted the HSE and Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise but have not received feedback, support or noted any change in the unit, they say.
When contacted by the , the HSE said it does not comment on individual patient cases but stated that “[Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise] is committed to providing safe, compassionate, respectful and person-centred maternity care for women, infants and their families”.
The HSE says that maternity services in Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise continue to develop “in line with national policy, evidence-based practice and ongoing quality improvement initiatives”.
“A wide range of specialist supports are available” in the hospital, the HSE says, “including a designated maternity social worker, clinical midwife specialists, advanced midwifery practitioners, midwifery-led clinics, parentcraft education programmes, a home-from-home birthing room and specialist lactation support services.” The HSE says that all maternity staff are supported through ongoing perinatal education and training, with access to multidisciplinary supports, including psychiatry and community mental health services.
The HSE says follow-up supports are also available following discharge to promote continuity of care for women and their families.
The HSE says that the hospital provides bereavement care in accordance with national standards “through established care pathways, multidisciplinary governance arrangements, regular audit processes and continuous staff education”, and that oversight is provided through the hospital's Maternity Bereavement Committee, which supports quality improvement and compliance with national bereavement standards.
According to the HSE, the hospital also has established acute and community pregnancy loss pathways, perinatal mental health supports and specialist infant-feeding services.
Maternity services at Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise are supported through regional clinical networks and collaborative working arrangements with The Coombe Hospital and maternity colleagues across the region.
The HSE says that recent planning submission for facilities upgrades to the maternity service “represents an important step in enhancing the facilities for women and their families”.
