Galway Senator demands withdrawal of report on maternity services reconfiguration

Galway Bay fm newsroom- A Galway senator has demanded the withdrawal of the report which fuelled recent speculation over the future of maternity services at Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe. Speaking in the Seanad, Senator Trevor O'Clochartaigh questioned the origins of the report and the motivation behind its compilation. He claimed the report was compiled by a company called ‘The Health Partnership,' which was set up by the current chairperson of the West North-West Hospitals Group. In a statement issued by the group, the HSE says its chairperson, Mr Noel Daly, retired from D&F Health Partnership Limited in 2011. It states that although he is listed as a 50% shareholder in the company, he has had no involvement with it since his retirement. Senator O'Clochartaigh is calling on the Health Minister to return to the Seanad to clarify what he calls a ‘conflict of interest' on the maternity services review.