Obstetric services at maternity units in Monaghan Hospital and Louth Hospital, Dundalk, look set to remain suspended until September at the earliest. A review group set up by the North-Eastern Health Board to examine maternity services in the region has been asked to report back by September and may result in the services being reinstated.
This, however, would depend on whether additional consultant posts were created in the hospitals and whether the insurers which withdrew cover for maternity services in February reinstate it.
A review of hospitals' consultant needs is being carried out by Comhairle na nOspideal, but a spokesman said he could not say when it would be completed.
Pressure has been mounting on maternity services in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, since the two obstetric services closed. Midwives have applied to the Labour Relations Commission to review the situation.
During an eight-day period to March 27th, widwives at the Drogheda hospital refused to carry out overtime services because of an unacceptable increase in workload, according to Ms Patsy Doyle of the Irish Nurses' Organisation.
The workload of midwives at Drogheda was expected to be up between 40 and 50 per cent during March, Ms Doyle said.
The review group of maternity services in the North-Eastern Health Board follows a rejection of recommendations by the Condon Review Group.
It said maternity services should cease at Monaghan and the maternity unit in Dundalk should be replaced by a midwifery-led unit, as neither site had the 1,000 annual births which the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists stipulates are needed to warrant a consultant-led unit.
The health board was informed by its insurers, Irish Public Bodies Mutual Insurances Ltd, that in the light of these safety concerns it would withdraw cover from both units unless appropriate interim measures were implemented before the end of February.
Protests organised in both towns to demand the retention of the services had been suspended because of the foot-and-mouth alert, but were set to resume, according to Dr Mary Grehan of the Louth Hospital Action Committee.
There will be little or no on-call night cover this week and next week for emergency theatre operations at St Columcille's Hospital, Loughlinstown, following official action by job-sharing nurses at the hospital.
Night-time emergency theatre cases are to be transferred to St Vincent's Hospital, Elm Park.
Mr Philip McAnenly, industrial relations officer at the INO, said job-sharing nurses were paid £13.04 for on-call work between 4.30 p.m. and 8 a.m. While the action had previously been deferred to allow for talks, management did not meet them. He said he was disappointed that management had informed him they would not meet for talks until the official action ended.
A statement from the East Coast Area Health Board said it regretted the action and called on the INO to "suspend their action and to enter meaningful talks with the board".
The hospital has made contingency plans to keep the accident and emergency department open.