Bob Quinn, Green Party Councillor for Naas, welcomes the imminent return of the Coombe maternity hospital’s ante-natal clinic to Naas. Quinn coordinated the action group that sought a solution to the closure of the clinic, which had operated successfully from Naas General Hospital (NGH) for some 20 years. When Covid-19 struck, the ante-natal clinic was stood down, forcing pregnant women from Kildare to attend the Coombe in Dublin 8 for appointments.
The Naas clinic accommodated 500 appointments per month, among them consultant first visits, follow-up clinics, anatomy scans, growth scans (etc), GTTs (Glucose Tolerance Tests) BPs (Blood Pressure Series), CTGs, and blood tests. A combination of low-risk and high-risk pregnancies were monitored at the Naas clinics. Women attending these clinics would have had all their care in Naas, only attending the Coombe for admission or when in labour.
Councillor Quinn was very aware of the inconvenience caused by the closure of the local clinic as his wife was pregnant with their third child after March 2020. He raised the issue as a matter of urgency at a Naas Green Party meeting in 2022, urging that Kildare women were being disadvantaged with every month that went by.
Green Party Senator Vincent P Martin and then Green Party Councillor Colm Kenny made initial enquiries and established that the Coombe was keen to have the Naas clinic reinstated. Colm Kenny also established that it would not be possible to accommodate the clinic in NGH. This issue was then raised by Senator Vincent P Martin in the Seanad.
Councillor Quinn became the coordinator of a cross-party action group with a singular aim: to reinstate the ante-natal clinic somewhere in Naas. The group has worked diligently over the last 12 months and identified suitable accommodation in Vista Primary Care. This, however, was only the start. A huge amount of coordination was required between Dublin Midland Hospital Group, the Coombe hospital, the HSE and Vista Primary Care.
Speaking about the clinic returning to Naas, Cllr Quinn said, “This is a major win for the women of Naas and surrounding areas. Everyone had to work together to ensure the singular aim of reinstating the clinic for the women of Kildare was achieved. Having the clinic in Naas has a major convenience factor of course,” he continued, “but there’s the environmental impact of travelling to the Coombe versus to Naas. Aside from emissions, there’s the cost of petrol or diesel and parking at the Coombe. Those who don’t drive must rely on public transport, and more rural parts of Kildare are still poorly served in this regard (and the cost associated with it). Everyone who takes the Luas to Fatima or Rialto expresses concerns for their safety when they have to walk alone, heavily pregnant, from the Luas stop to the hospital. Appointments for Naas women were typically in the late afternoon. In winter time, it’s dark then.”
“I spoke to a number of women who shared their experiences of getting to appointments in the Coombe – it caused massive disruption to their lives. Many had to arrange childcare for their other children while they were absent for hours attending appointments.”
Cllr Quinn has been informed that the clinic will be set up in the coming weeks with an official launch in early 2024. He is keen to welcome the clinic back to Naas and to thank Gerry Roche of Vista Primary Care for his unstinting support for the project.
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