A HOSPITAL in Dublin has been accused of double standards after allowing a camera crew to film in its maternity ward while refusing entry to partners who were told to "wait outside in the car park".
Linda Kelly, a maternity campaigner, took to Twitter to slam Rotunda Hospital for prioritising RTÉ crew members over parents and families.
"A new series of the Rotunda will air on RTÉ, recorded during the pandemic at a time when partners were told to wait outside in the carpark," she wrote.
"Let that sink in. A TV show was considered more important than providing safe, compassionate care. #BetterMaternityCare."
Linda's tweet blew up on Tuesday and has been liked more than three-and-a-half thousand times since.
Tomorrow night a new series of The Rotunda will air on RTÉ. Recorded during the pandemic at a time when partners were told to wait outside in the car park. Let that sink in. A TV show was considered more important than providing safe, compassionate care. #BetterMaternityCare
— Linda Kelly (@lindabtweeting) September 7, 2021
The filming was for the Rotunda reality TV show, which shows families as they welcome babies into the world.
A spokesperson for the hospital defended the move, insisting that much of the filming was done by remote cameras, and the size of the crew was usually kept to a minimum.
"Filming took place from November 2020 to September 2021, with minimal numbers of crew on site at all times," the spokesperson said.
"Filming in the delivery suites mainly took place through pre-installed fixed cameras that were operated remotely. For a limited amount of filming, one crew member, or on occasion a compact two-person crew, was present onsite.
"Family and staff interviews were filmed off site in a production studio. During the course of filming, strict infection prevention and control protocols were adhered to at all times."
Members of the public were still outraged that priority was given to members of the media over immediate family members of the mother, no matter how small the camera crew.
Though the hospital spokesperson argued that it was "important to hear the stories [of those giving birth] and understand how maternity services continued to operate safely for all patients despite the many challenges posed by Covid-19 pandemic and also by a ‘cyber- attack’."
