The Rotunda Hospital in Dublin says it doesn’t plan to deny access to partners if they’re not vaccinated.
But Ireland’s biggest maternity hospital says access arrangements can be amended at any time.
The Rotunda Hospital’s announced that from December 1st it will be asking all non-patients attending the hospital to show a covid cert as part of it’s safety-screening process.
While the maternity hospital doesn’t yet plan on denying access it says access can be changed at any time in response to infection rates, changes in vaccination numbers, and public health guidance.
Emma Carroll from the Better Maternity Care campaign says the fear is that could change; "based on the advice of NPHET the hospital itself has decided to implement this and those hospitals in the RCSI group will be doing the same - so it is possible they could turn around and say 'you're not allowed in unless you have a vaccination'."
She says they’ve asked the HSE to allow people to provide a negative antigen test; "It would certainly make much more sense than providing a piece of paper at the door."
Other maternity hospitals across the country are now also expected to follow suit and ask for a covid cert on entry.
