Covid-19 maternity curbs violating women s rights at Portlaoise and other hospitals
Protest at Portlaoise hospital over Covid-19 restrictions on expecting mums and dads
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Women have mounted a protest at Portlaoise hospital in an effort to force the removal of restrictions on parents expecting to have a child at the maternity unit.
The protest is part of a national series of demonstrations at the gates of hospitals around Ireland where they say measures to reduce the risk of Covid-19 restrictions have not been relaxed.
The protestors, who come from an alliance of different groups, believe the measures are no longer needed and could be eased for parents to ensure both parents can attend during scans and throughout labour.
Government should make special recognition payment to frontline staff
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Sligo Leitrim Fianna Fail TD Marc Mac Sharry has said the Government should sanction a ‘special recognition’ payment to all frontline health and social care professionals together with An Garda Siochana given their extraordinary contribution throughout the ongoing pandemic. “Our Celtic cousins in Scotland, Wales and indeed here in the North have already announcement plans to pay all £500 each,” he said.
The Public Accounts Committee member said, “for many months’ political leaders, public commentators and members of the public have rightly praised and applauded all of our caregivers and lifesavers who have put themselves in harms way.
Healthcare workers are experiencing severe burnout as they face into the second year of the Covid-19 global pandemic, the Oireachtas Health Committee will be told.
21 patients are waiting for a bed at St Luke s Hospital in Kilkenny
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There are 21 patients on trolleys and in wards at St Luke s Hospital waiting for a bed according to the latest figures from the Irish Midwives and Nurses Organisation.
The INMO Trolley Watch counts the number of patients who have been admitted to acute hospitals, but who are waiting for a free bed. These patients are often being treated on trolleys in corridors, but they may also be on chairs, in waiting rooms, or simply wherever there’s space.
There are also 23 patients being treated for Covid-19 at the hospital with an additional two suspected cases of the viruses.