Galway Bay fm newsroom - A new report from the Health Information and Quality Authority has identified issues with maternity services at University Hospital Galway and Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe.
Both hospitals were deemed to be overall very compliant with national standards - but both failed in the category of physical environment supporting safe, quality care and wellbeing of women and their babies.
A new report by the Health Information and Quality Authority has found the national standards of quality and safety in the country's maternity units are high.
In Galway, UHG and Portiuncula are no different - with HIQA finding services at both facilities are generally compliant, often substansially so.
But it did identify some areas which need improvement - with similar deficiencies noted at both hospitals.
Both were found be non-compliant in the category of "Maternity care provided in a physical environment, which supports the delivery of safe, high-quality care and protects the health and wellbeing of women and their babies".
UHG was deemed to have outdated maternity unit infrastructure and the operating theatre in the Labour Ward was found to be not in line with recommended guidelines for surgical facilities.
The need to increase operating theatre capacity was also noted.
Meanwhile, Portiuncula was found to have outdated infrastructure in inpatient areas in the Maternity Unit at the hospital.
It was also noted that fetal ultrasound scans at 20-22 weeks gestation were not offered universally to pregnant women at the Ballinasloe hospital.
However, overall, maternity services at both hospitals were deemed to be largely compliant with national guidelines - with clear effective leadership, good governance and management structure, and strong mechanisms in place to drive quality improvement.
