Minister for Health Welcomes Efforts Towards Improving Access to Our Gynaecology Services

Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, acknowledges the progress being made to improve both the access to and the sustainability of our gynaecology services.

The Department of Health is working with the HSE’s National Women & Infants Health Programme (NWIHP) to develop ambulatory gynaecology “see and treat” clinics across the country, which will help to alleviate significant demand in this service area.

Minister Donnelly said, \”promoting Women’s Health is a central pillar of the broader health agenda under the Programme for Government. The investment and developments we are seeing in gynaecology services ensures that this specific area of women’s health finally gets the attention and support it needs, to provide timely and effective services to the women of this country.\”

The development of ambulatory gynaecology clinics will bring a number of benefits as they become operational. These include helping to:

• Improve access to gynaecology services.
• Reduce the requirement for multiple gynaecology appointments.
• Ensure sustainability of service provision into the future given the very significant waiting lists for this speciality.
• Importantly, improving clinical outcomes and the health experience of the women availing of these services.

The ambulatory gynaecology clinics will have a direct impact on gynaecology waiting lists at local and national level, as women will be identified, triaged, and directed to have their treatment in an ambulatory setting. It is estimated that approximately 70% of general gynaecology referrals are suitable for management in the ambulatory setting.

Eight of these clinics are functioning, work is underway to operationalise 6 more clinics that were funded last year, and funding provided in Budget 2022 will enable the final 6 clinics to be established. This will complete the implementation of Ambulatory Gynaecology Model of Care and bring the total number of these clinics to 20 nationally.

Minister Donnelly concluded by saying, \”these initiatives will help to improve access and ensure a more sustainable and integrated gynaecology service. Indeed, through the continued implementation of the Ambulatory Gynaecology Model of Care as well as the establishment of specialist clinics in women’s health, gynaecological care will be fundamentally reformed in the coming years.\”