Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 July 2021
1854. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the breakdown of the additional funding allocated in budget 2021 to the women’s health taskforce; and the areas in which and items it was spent on. [35654/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraProgressing women’s health is a priority for this government. We made a strong commitment to Promoting Women’s Health in the Programme for Government and are fully committed to the development and improvement of Women’s Health services and to working with women and girls to improve their health across the whole life cycle.
Underscoring the government’s commitment to Women’s Health has been the establishment of a Women’s Health Taskforce in September 2019 to improve both health outcomes and experiences of healthcare for women and girls. The members of the Taskforce meet regularly, with its thirteenth meeting held this week. The Women’s Health Taskforce continues to work with the National Women’s Council of Ireland and the European Institute of Women’s Health to prioritise different issues each year with the aim of improving women’s health outcomes and experiences of healthcare. Critical to this work is the process of listening to women - the Taskforce has so far listened to, engaged with and worked with more than 1,000 women and hundreds of organisations representing women and girls across the country.
Based on this information, the Taskforce has developed proposals to improve supports for gynaecological health, mental health, physical activity, and menopause all of which are rolling out this year and next year.
Budget 2021 has provided a dedicated €5million Women’s Health Fund to implement a programme of actions arising from the work of the Taskforce. The first two proposals to be supported under the Women's Health Fund are:
- Two community-based Ambulatory Gynaecology Services in Tallaght and Limerick/Nenagh, with an associated cost of €1.415million
The provision of two community-based Ambulatory Gynaecology Services governed by two acute hospitals (Tallaght University Hospital, and University Maternity Hospital Limerick, though located in Nenagh General Hospital) under the banner of the Women’s Health Taskforce. This project, with an associated cost of €1.415m, will see the establishment of one-stop “see and treat” gynaecology clinics in the community in which women can be seen and assessed, following referral by their GP to the hospital’s general gynaecology services. This service will address a clear and identified need, as gynaecology services are acknowledged and recognised as being a service area that continues to be under significant and growing pressure. These one-stop-see-and-treat clinics will play a significant role to improve access to gynaecology, reducing waiting times and improving clinical outcomes for women.
- Expansion of the endometriosis service at Tallaght University Hospital, with an associated cost of €641k.
The second area to be funded is the expansion of the endometriosis service at Tallaght University Hospital (TUH), with an associated cost of €641k, will deliver a specialist endometriosis centre for the management and treatment of all forms of endometriosis, with particular focus on advanced and complex cases for which there is no ready access in Ireland. Endometriosis is estimated to affect 1 in 10 women and represents one of the top four categories of symptoms that comprise approximately 80% of gynaecology referrals. The provision of a secure, supported, expanded and specialist service in Tallaght University Hospital will help to improve both clinical outcomes and overall care experience for women suffering from this debilitating condition.
In addition, our Radical Listening exercise, which has been held to hear the voices of women on their health, to understand their perspectives on health and wellbeing, how those perspectives were shaped, and to understand the forces that shape health outcomes for women. Elements of the Radical Listening exercise have been funded under this Women's Health Fund, with an associated cost of €40k.
Engagement is ongoing with Dept. of Health and HSE stakeholders to finalise further activities to be implemented under the Women’s Health Fund in 2021. A number of proposals are in different stages of finalisation and approval, which will be announced shortly and which will consolidate and drive impact for women in the coming months.
