NO commitment has been given that full maternity services will ever be restored at Portiuncula Hospital, giving rise to huge concern among women locally.

Speaking after attending a HSE presentation on maternity services at the Ballinasloe hospital at the Oireachtas Health Committee, local Councillor Evelyn Parsons said there were “still more questions than answers” about the decision in July 2025 to transfer ‘higher risk’ pregnancies out of the unit in Portiuncula.

In a statement to the Oireachtas Committee, HSE CEO, Bernard Gloster, outlined that the care provided to twelve women and their infants has been or is being reviewed – and five of those reviews are still outstanding.

Giving context to the decision to transfer higher risk patients to maternity units, he said two intrauterine deaths occurred in 2023 and subsequent reviews, in the cases of two of the women affected, “raised concerns about aspects of their care that may have had an impact on their outcome”.

He said five babies were referred for therapeutic hypothermia to treat hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy at Portiuncula in 2024 – a number that was “considerably above the national rate.

“All review teams are making good progress and it is expected that all reviews will be concluded by the end of Q1 2026.

“To manage the risk and help provide assurance on the safety of the maternity services at Portiuncula University Hospital (PUH), an External Management Team, comprising of a Consultant Obstetrician, Director of Midwifery and General Manager, were appointed in January 2025 to oversee and manage maternity services in PUH.

“This team remains in place in PUH and is providing an additional level of supervision, oversight and governance to the maternity services,” said Mr Gloster in his opening statement.

He said review-based recommendations were being implemented but “I am conscious that this unit has been through previous reports and recommendations with implementation plans.

“While improvements are welcome and need to continue, there has to remain significant caution as to the range and type of pregnancy that can be booked to this unit,” he said.

Mr Gloster said he wished to acknowledge the concern of the women who use Portiuncula “and the disappointment for people in the Ballinasloe and surrounding districts”.

He also acknowledged the disruption and challenges faced by the “many fine staff in Portiuncula Hospital and sense of let down that people feel when issues like this arise”.

“I particularly want to acknowledge the women and their partners whose story has been and remains the subject of these case reviews. To them I apologise on behalf of the Health Service. Apologies for bad outcomes and failures in healthcare, despite some commentary, are an important step in an open, transparent and appropriately accountable healthcare system, one which is not defensive or in denial,” said Mr Gloster.

Repeated poor outcomes required tough decisions, even if those decisions were uncomfortable, he said.

“I am satisfied that the decisions taken in 2025 in respect of Portiuncula are necessary and proportionate to the evidence and I want to assure this committee that we will do all possible to continue delivering the best levels of healthcare, including maternity in that site, in a safe way into the future,” he said.

Cllr Parsons, who attended the Oireachtas committee hearing, said it was deeply concerning that there appeared to be no discussion of restoring services at Portiuncula once these issues were addressed.

She believed more clarity was required as to the safety of transferring women with higher risk pregnancies, travelling from up to eight counties, out of Portiuncula into already overstretched units such as that in UHG.

She reiterated that evidence should be provided that this was the safest course of action and “if that is provided, of course that would be accepted, but we haven’t been provided with risk assessment information”.

Full clarity and transparency were required to ensure trust in the health care system, said Cllr Parsons.

“There are still so many questions outstanding and the single biggest question is if and when we are going to get a plan for full reinstatement of services at Portiuncula. We need a roadmap,” she added.

Pictured: Call for clarity…Cllr Evelyn Parsons outside Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe.