New and expectant parents say they are furious at last night's TV show The Rotunda.
They're hitting out at the fact that members of a TV crew was allowed in to the hospital, while partners are not.
Many parents say the programme was very upsetting, given the restrictions they have faced.
I regret watching #TheRotunda so much. The absolute ignorance of how the ongoing partner restrictions affect every aspect of your pregnancy is actually quite unbelievable. Added as a footnote and nothing more. Such an insult and v upsetting. #BetterMaternityCare
— Linda Kelly (@lindabtweeting) September 8, 2021
RTE says: "Our approach to The Rotunda documentary series has always been two-fold; to authentically tell the stories of mothers and their partners with care and compassion, and to celebrate the work of hospital staff in sometimes very difficult circumstances while at the same time bringing stories of love and compassion to the airwaves. This holds true now more than ever. We believe in our public service remit and our objective in making this series is to offer an important insight into Irish life in 2021.
"For filming this season we reduced our footfall in the hospital to the bare minimum with a lot of filming taking place off-site. The majority of filming in the hospital was recorded by remote cameras controlled from outside the building. Additional research and filming was produced by a single person or on occasion by a compact two person crew. Strict Covid-19 infection prevention and control protocols were followed at all times by the production.
Hospital
A spokesperson for the Rotunda Hospital says: "Filming took place from November 2020 to September 2021, with minimal numbers of crew on site at all times. 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.
"Management at the Rotunda Hospital decided to proceed with filming The Rotunda TV series as it is an important platform that allows patients and their families to share their pregnancy and birth stories with dignity and respect, both joyous and heartbreaking. We believe that it is important to hear these stories 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’."
