"I would encourage every single pregnant woman, please get vaccinated."
The Master of the Rotunda Maternity Hospital has said that "all restrictions" could be eased if a higher percentage of pregnant women and their partners were vaccinated against Covid-19.
Professor Fergal Malone said the hospital carries out surveys every week to gain insight into the vaccination status of patients, saying that the most recent survey revealed that just 39% of inpatients were fully vaccinated against the virus, with the figure sitting at only 41% for partners.
“To be honest with you, that’s disappointing, but in ways I suppose, not surprising because there is some vaccine hesitancy,” Malone told
Morning Ireland on RTÉ on Wednesday.
"And of course, what that means is 60% of the patients and or partners walking around the Rotunda Hospital today are not vaccinated and therefore are vulnerable to Covid.
“If we can get that vaccination number up - we will see it being safe to relax all restrictions. I would encourage every single pregnant woman, please get vaccinated."
Malone added that he believes the easing of restrictions before a majority of patients and partners have been vaccinated would be impossible due to a lack of ventilation and space at the facility.
He stated that the old main building, which dates back to 1757, has no ventilation and not enough space to allow large numbers of people to safely sit together with social distancing measures in place. He said that the ultrasound waiting room only has 12 seats, meanwhile, the emergency room only has 10.
“If I have eight or nine mothers sitting there and suddenly that’s 16 or 18 adults because they all have a partner with them in a small room that is not ventilated and not capable of being ventilated, that is a very serious risk,” he said.
“If they’re all filled or most of them are filled by patients needing assessment, and I now double that by having their partner with them during that time, it’s just not safe.”
Professor Malone added that every delivery room in the hospital is a private room, meaning the patient's partner will be permitted to stay during the entirety of the labour.
“Once a patient is admitted to the delivery room, whether she’s one centimetre dilated, or 10 centimetres dilated, of course, the patient’s partner will be with them for every minute of that journey,” he said.
Main Image: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie
