The National Maternity Hospital has been in operation at Holles Street since 1894. It remains an independent voluntary organisation operating under a Charter with a Board of Governors and the Master, Prof Shane Higgins, responsible for clinical and operational management. The Royal Charter granted to the hospital by Edward the VII in 1903 formally lays down the structure of the hospital and remains to this day, the legal basis of the hospital’s existence. In addition, the hospital is governed by a set of Bye Laws, which help to ensure that the operational activity of the hospital is consistent with the Hospital Charter.
Since opening our doors, we have understood that there is nothing more important than the safe care of our mothers and the safe delivery of our babies. As a leading provider of maternity, gynaecology and neonatal care, our team is dedicated to creating an environment where women, babies and their families receive the highest standard of care.
As the leading Maternity Hospital in Ireland and a national referral centre for complicated pregnancies, premature and sick babies, our mission is to ensure our patients receive high quality, safe, evidence-based care, whilst respecting their dignity and rights. This is achieved through fostering excellence and innovation in patient care, training, education and research, in a culture of quality and safety where each person is valued, respected and facilitated for personal and professional growth.
To be renowned as a world-class hospital for the care of women and babies.
The National Maternity Hospital on Dublin’s Holles Street is one of Europe’s largest maternity hospitals with 200 inpatient beds. In 2020, 7,263 mothers delivered 7,402 babies and there were 1,240 admissions, of which 117 were born weighing less than 1,500g to our neonatal intensive care unit during the year.
The hospital provides maternity, gynaecology, neonatology, fetal medicine, anaesthetics, pathology, radiology, maternal medicine, perinatal mental health, urogynaecology, National Neonatal Transfer Service and Community Midwifery Services.
The original focus of the service was the poor people of the districts surrounding Holles Street, however continuous change and growth from humble beginnings means that today over 7,000 babies are born in ‘Holles St’ each year, which means that one in every twelve Irish citizens begins life behind its walls.
The hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is recognised as a national referral centre for complicated pregnancies, premature babies and sick infants. The hospital has created a dedicated site www.nmhnicu.ie to assist parents and families with infants in a neonatal unit.
The NMH gynaecology and colposcopy clinics treat almost 15,000 outpatients annually. One of our main sub-specialities is the treatment of gynaecological cancer. The hospital’s colposcopy service is funded by the National Cancer Screening Service and is one of the largest units in Europe for such a purpose.
The NMH established a Community Midwifery Service in 1998 including homebirth, domino birth and early transfer home programmes. This service covers Dublin and North Wicklow and continues to be the busiest community midwifery service in Ireland.
The National Maternity Hospital has built up a reputation for undergraduate and postgraduate training and holds international courses on the Active Management of Labour each year. The hospital also educates undergraduate and postgraduate midwives. There is also a very extensive professional development programme for midwives and nurses within the hospital. An annual higher diploma programme in Neonatal Nursing Studies is facilitated in conjunction with the two other Dublin maternity hospitals and the Royal College of Surgeons.
Address: Holles Street, Dublin 2
Main switchboard: (01) 637 3100
Website: www.nmh.ie
Google Map: https://bit.ly/2xXSBvB
Please visit https://www.nmh.ie/visiting-guidelines.15012.html for current visiting guidelines.