The National Maternity Hospital received 170 complaints in the year leading up to the pandemic, Dublin Live has learned.
Two in five cases between January 2019 and February 2020 involved women who reported not getting safe care in the childbirth centre of excellence on Dublin’s Holles Street.
While safety was an issue in 68 complaints, a total of 78 or 44% related to communication and information between hospital and patient.
Krysia Lynch, from the Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services Ireland, said the women who come forward represent only a fraction of those who had negative childbirth experiences.
She said: “Those bad experiences do not leave people’s minds and they must be encouraged to correspond with their caregivers on any issues.”
A hospital spokeswoman said 23 of 24 complaints received in January and February 2020 were ‘fully resolved’, with the last one “awaiting a meeting, postponed due to COVID-19”.
