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Press release

Ministers for Health highlight significant progress in women’s health services

The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy Hildegarde Naughton and Minister for Mental Health and Older People Mary Butler have today highlighted the significant progress in the development of women’s health services.

Aligning with the Programme for Government commitment, investment of €140 million since 2020 has enabled several milestone developments as set out in the Women’s Health Action Plan 2022-2023.

These include:

  • Free Contraception Scheme for women aged 17 – 31
  • publicly-funded AHR treatment accessed via 6 Regional Fertility Hubs
  • 16 of a planned 20 See-and-treat Ambulatory Gynaecology Clinics operational
  • 6 Specialist Menopause Clinics operational
  • establishment of 2 Specialist Endometriosis Centres for complex care, with 5 regional hubs offering an initial level of service
  • perinatal mental health services provided in all 19 maternity services

Minister Donnelly said:

"I promised a revolution in women’s healthcare and I’m very pleased to say that we are now looking at a very different landscape for women’s health. Two years on from the launch of the Women’s Health Action Plan, we have set up hubs and clinics for endometriosis, fertility and menopause; we’ve expanded screening services, set up a network of Ambulatory Gynaecology Clinics and introduced a range of supports to meet the health needs of women in Ireland across all life stages.

"The need for these services is clear and we’re seeing high levels of demand, particularly for our Specialist Menopause Clinics and Ambulatory Gynaecology Clinics.

"The success of the Free Contraception Scheme is also evident, with almost 200,000 women accessing this service in the first 10 months of 2023.

"As we reflect on the significant achievements of the last few years, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Women’s Health Taskforce for their work to date in listening to women and their role in improving women’s experiences of health services."

Minister Naughton said:

"The last few years have seen truly transformative improvements in the provision of women’s healthcare services in Ireland and I’m particularly heartened that our department is spotlighting issues that were traditionally seen as taboo, such as menopause.

"Our first national Menopause Awareness Campaign and the gov.ie/menopause website have helped to increase understanding among women, and men, about this normal part of ageing.

"Last year I launched the Menopause in the Workplace Policy Framework for the Civil Service, with my colleague Minister Donohoe. This Framework recognises the need for employers to identify ways in which they can support women who are experiencing symptoms of peri-menopause and menopause."

Minister Butler said:

"Investment in women’s mental health services has included funding for specialist eating disorder posts with 11 multidisciplinary teams in operation, and the rollout of perinatal mental health services for pregnant women and new mothers, in all 19 maternity services.

"Work on embedding the first Women’s Mental Health Charter will further ensure the provision of tailored health services, responding to the fact that women sometimes experience mental health differently to other genders.

"The transformation of women’s healthcare continues, as we are expanding access to digital mental health services and focusing on meeting the needs of marginalised groups to ensure the equal access to quality healthcare for all."

Notes

The Women's Health Action Plan 2022 - 2023 sets out women’s priorities for women’s health, including faster access to specialist services, reputable sources of health information and enhanced healthcare experiences. It was developed by the Department of Health in partnership with the HSE, the National Women and Infants Health Programme, the European Institute for Women’s Health, the Irish College of General Practitioners, and the National Women’s Council of Ireland through the work of the Women’s Health Taskforce.

Women’s health highlights:

  • the Free Contraception Scheme provides free contraception for women aged 17 to 31
  • publicly-funded Assisted Human Reproduction (AHR) services were introduced in September 2023. These services are supported via six Regional Fertility Hubs
  • 16 of a planned 20 See-and-Treat Ambulatory Gynaecology Clinics are fully operational, with four more due to open in 2024. Approximately 16,000 patients were seen in these clinics in 2023, with the full network expected to provide care to 25,000 women annually
  • six Specialist Menopause Clinics are now operating, in the National Maternity Hospital, Rotunda, Coombe, Nenagh, Galway and Cork. An estimated 1,150 women attended the six clinics in 2023
  • the Department of Health launched a Menopause Awareness website along with a multi-media National Menopause Awareness campaign
  • five regional endometriosis hubs are operational in the National Maternity Hospital, Rotunda, Coombe, Limerick and Galway, with recruitment for full teams continuing. Two Specialist Endometriosis Centres for complex care have been established in Tallaght and Cork
  • since 2020, €16 million in new development funding has been allocated to the delivery of the National maternity Strategy 2016 – 2026, with 180 additional staff employed. Developments include home-from-home birthing suites in 14 maternity units, the establishment of specialist bereavement teams in all 19 maternity hospitals, 23.5 additional lactation consultants and the opening of five new postnatal hubs
  • 17 of the 19 maternity hospitals are now providing full termination of pregnancy services as prescribed in the 2018 Act. Services in the final two hospitals will commence in 2024
  • 2040 has been announced as Ireland’s target date for the elimination of cervical cancer, with significant investment in the Cervical Cancer Elimination Strategy
  • €600,000 was invested in the new National Diabetic Retinopathy Pathway for women with diabetes who become pregnant
  • investment in women’s health screening services has included €1.6 million for staffing new BreastCheck mobile units, €3.6 million for colposcopy services and €1.6 million for digital surveillance pathway for Diabetic RetinaScreen programme
  • €20 million was provided for the development of the National Cervical Screening Laboratory, which will become the principal provider of cervical screening for the National Screening Service
  • €8 million has been allocated for specialist eating disorder posts, with 11 multidisciplinary teams operating across the HSE Community Healthcare Organisations
  • perinatal mental health services have been established in all 19 maternity services, following a hub and spoke model, with 6 consultant-led multidisciplinary hub sites and 13 spoke sites with a perinatal mental health midwife and liaison psychiatry, in operation

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