Question from Deputy Pádraig Rice - PQ 46528-26

To ask the Minister for Health to respond to matters raised in correspondence (· Several constituents have raised concerns regarding the understaffing on postnatal wards and the consequences this is having on patient wards.·They have detailed situations in which mothers have been left alone to tend to their babies, those concerned have detailed situations in which mothers have injured themselves, torn stiches and have compromised their own recovery because support was not available.·The correspondence I have received stressed that this is not the fault of the nurses and midwives working on the wards, but as a result of understaffing.·They have also requested a review on the restrictions that are in place on the partners of those who have given birth, which results in partners being unable to provide essential support.); to detail the work of her Department to address the concerns raised; and if she will make a statement on the matter.