This article first appeared on Galway Bay FM

The Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill today visited Ballinasloe to meet some of the families included in Portiuncula Hospital birth review cases

An external review is being taken into the birth of nine babies at the hospital over concerns about their delivery

The review is focused on HIE, which is a reduction in oxygen or blood around the time of a baby’s birth

In a statement issued following the visit Minister Carroll MacNeill thanked families for meeting her, saying it was a day for listening

She said these are not ‘events’, or ‘incidents’, these are women with babies who died, and women and babies who had unexpected and severe outcomes

The Minister also visited the hospital and spent time speaking with some of the staff in the maternity unit

She met with the hospital’s Executive Management and the external management team who are currently overseeing maternity services to assess their early feedback

The Minister plans to meet with this team again in another two weeks