The National Maternity Hospital has said it will have no option but to reduce its activity levels unless the Department of Health urgently approves plans to improve conditions.
The hospital at Holles Street would ideally need to double in size to cope with its existing workload. It is due to deliver about 8,600 babies this year.
Mr Michael Lenihan, the hospital's secretary/manager, said yesterday the number of complaints from patients in relation to the hospital's infrastructure and hotel services had increased dramatically in the last three years.
Patients, he said, were having to queue in corridors, wards were overcrowded and the college of pathologists had threatened to withdraw recognition for training on July 1st over conditions in the hospital laboratories.
When the hospital delivered 7,500 babies in 1997, the Department of Health accepted improvements were necessary, and a project team was established.
Architects decided the hospital would need to be demolished if it were to double in size at its existing site. This was not considered possible, however, and other options were looked at.
It was decided it would be best for the hospital to transfer to the site of St Vincent's Hospital.
"We have been looking for a meeting for the last five months with the Minister for Health to see if he will approve that or not, because we need to start doing something," Mr Lenihan said.
"Now even if we get the green light to move to St Vincent's it could take seven to 10 years, and we can't stand still. We are bursting at the seams."
The board of the hospital decided in March that an interim plan should be drawn up to deal with overcrowding and health and safety issues.
That plan, which would involve interim developments worth €18 million, was submitted to the Eastern Regional Health Authority and the Department of Health on June 4th.
"The board of the hospital is convinced that in the absence of it being approved, it will have no option but to consider reducing the activity of this hospital," Mr Lenihan said. This option would be considered if approval was not given by September.
He was speaking to The Irish Times following the publication of an article on the hospital's development plans in this week's Irish Medical Times.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Health confirmed that the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, planned to arrange a meeting with the hospital shortly.