Ireland’s first ever survey of maternity services will take place in early 2020.
A joint initiative by HIQA, the HSE and the Department of Health, the National Maternity Survey will ask women who have recently given birth about their experiences of Ireland’s maternity services.
HIQA CEO Phelim Quinn said, “This is an exciting venture and will, for the first time, give new mothers the opportunity to share their views of Ireland’s maternity services. Their feedback will provide an invaluable insight into the experiences of women who give birth in Ireland and help us to improve the quality and safety of Irish maternity services.”
Director of the National Patient Experience Survey, Rachel Flynn, said, “In August of last year, HIQA commenced a programme of monitoring against the National Standards for Safer Better Maternity Services. All nineteen maternity units in public hospitals will have been inspected against the National Standards by the end of this year. The National Maternity Survey is another key building block in the development of a maternity service that is responsive to the needs of women and their families, ensuring that they are treated with dignity, respect and compassion at all times.”
The National Maternity Survey will capture the experiences of new mothers from prenatal and antenatal care through to postnatal care.
Women aged 16 years of age or older who give birth during the survey period will be invited to participate in the survey approximately three months after the birth of their baby.
The National Patient Experience Survey and the National Maternity Survey come under the umbrella of the National Care Experience Programme — a new, overarching partnership by HIQA, the HSE and the Department of Health.
