Fianna Fáil TD for Galway East, Anne Rabbitte, has expressed her concerns that not all the recommendations in the Walker Report, an independent report into maternity services in Portiuncla Hospital, have been implemented.

In a parliamentary question response to Deputy Rabbitte, the Saolta University Health Care Group revealed that the following appointments are all outstanding:

  • Peri-natal Pathologist
  • Sonographers
  • Consultant Obstetricians
  • Consultant Gynaecologists

She commented:

We are over a year and a half since the Walker Report was published. The report made 35 key recommendations yet some of these remain outstanding which is very concerning.  We must not forget the reason this independent review led by Professor James Walker was carried out, and should ensure incidents like those never happen again.  Expectant parents deserve to know that there are the required medical professionals in Portiuncla Hospital as they go through one of the most important times in their lives.

Deputy Rabbitte concluded:

The positions badly need to be filled for the hospital to function to its maximum. The Saolta Group, HSE, and Department of Health need to ensure this process is not delayed any longer and fill the positions that are outstanding in the Walker Report.