Details of Service
The neonatal unit at Cork University Maternity Hospital provides tertiary (Level 3) neonatal care. The unit is at the centre of the Ireland South Women & Infants Network (ISWIN), supporting the neonatal services at University Hospital Waterford (Level 2), Tipperary University Hospital (Level 1) and University Hospital Kerry (Level 1). CUMH also supports University Maternity Hospital Limerick, in particular for neonatal neurocritical care and the provision of therapeutic hypothermia.
In 2024 there were 9,788 total births in the directorate. These included CUMH 6,585, UHK 987, UHW 1,541 and TippUH 675. There were a total of 1,924 infants admitted to the neonatal units across the network as follows: CUMH 1,070, UHK 213, UHW 409 and TippUH 232. Approximately 70–80 very low birth weight infants are cared for in CUMH annually.
The neonatal unit has 37 neonatal cots, which includes 6 ICU, 6 high dependency and 25 special care cots. The unit is staffed by a team of 7 WTE consultant neonatologists and an MDT of neonatal nursing and allied health and social care professionals. The unit has a long standing clinical and research interest in neonatal neurology, encephalopathy and neurodevelopmental outcomes.
Role Summary
The neonatal psychologist will play a central role in the multidisciplinary neurodevelopmental follow‑up of high‑risk newborn infants, including:
very low birth weight infants (VLBW)
infants < 32 weeks gestation
infants with neonatal encephalopathy at birth
We aim to provide a Bayley’s assessment for all these high‑risk infants at approximately 2 years of age. The psychologist will be integral to the neurodevelopmental follow‑up programme.
Contact
Name: Dr Heather Cronin, Principal Specialist Psychology/Lead for Cork University Maternity Hospital Psychology.
Tel: 087 287 3916
Email: heather.cronin2@hse.ie
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