Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 July 2024
762. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Health the progress made in improving access to women's health services since 27 June 2020; the additional funding provided in successive budgets; his plans for 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29612/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI remain committed to progressing women's health and it has been a priority for me in my role as Minister for Health since 2020. Significant progress has been made in the area of women's health in recent years including;
• A Free Contraception Scheme was first introduced in September 2022 for women aged between 17 and 25. The scheme was extended to 31 year-olds on 1st January 2024 and further extended to women aged 32 to 35 inclusive on 1st July 2024. The scheme is provided by approx. 2,400 GPs and 2,050 pharmacists nationwide.
• Referrals for publicly-funded Assisted Human Reproduction (AHR) treatments, such as IVF, commenced in September 2023. These services are being privately provided initially with eligible and clinically determined patients being referred from one of the 6 Regional Fertility Hubs located across the country.
• Sixteen ‘See-and-Treat’ Ambulatory Gynaecology (AG) Clinics are fully operational with 4 more in development. Approximately 16,000 patients were seen in these same day see-and-treat clinics in 2023.
• Six Specialist Menopause Clinics have opened nationwide, one in each maternity network, for women who require complex specialist care.
• My Department launched a National Menopause Awareness Campaign in 2 phases (October 2022 and March 2023) which included the development of a webpage. Overall, the campaign was positively received and 72% of survey respondents agreed that menopause is now being discussed more openly in Ireland.
• Two Specialist Endometriosis Centres for complex care have been established, along with 5 regional hubs. All hub and supra-regional sites are currently operational and receiving referrals.
• Since 2020 a total of €17.5 million in new development funding has been allocated to the delivery of the National Maternity Strategy 2016-2026. 186 additional staff have been employed, including consultants, midwives and social workers.
• Five new postnatal hubs are now open, giving women access to postnatal care in community settings.
• A new National Perinatal Genomics Service is being established to ensure women have access to critical testing both during pregnancy, and in planning for future pregnancies.
• 17 of our 19 maternity hospitals are providing full termination of pregnancy services, as prescribed in the 2018 Act, with services commencing in the final two hospital sites in 2024.
• Legislation providing for Safe Access Zones was signed into law by Uachtarán na hÉireann on 7th May 2024.
• An Inter-Departmental Period Poverty Implementation Group was established in 2021. Funding has been allocated over three budgets, starting with €714,000 in 2022, for period poverty mitigation in the community. The allocation has been increased by €100,000 each year with €914,000 allocated in 2024. A Procurement Framework was established to support the purchase of products, vending machines, equip facilities and distribute period products to those most in need.
• A Cervical Cancer Elimination target date of 2040 was announced in November 2023. There has been significant investment in the Cervical Cancer Elimination Strategy, as well as the HPV vaccination programme, including the expansion of the Laura Brennan HPV Vaccine Catch-Up Programme.
• Over €10 million was allocated to new developments in women's health screening services (breast, bowel, cervical and diabetic retina screening) from March 2022 to December 2023.
• A National Cervical Screening Laboratory was opened in December 2022. Over time, it is anticipated that the new laboratory will become the principal provider of cervical screening for the National Screening Service and become a National Centre of Excellence for cervical screening, as well as education, training and research.
• 6 multidisciplinary teams have been put in place for pregnant women and women with a baby up to one year old who may have an existing or new mental health problem. Women with severe mental health problems who are planning a pregnancy can also avail of this service. In addition, perinatal mental health midwife posts are now in place across 13 sites.
• The Women's Health Fund provided investment in 2021, 2022, and 2023 to support a range of mental health services for women and girls, including digital mental health service access, improving perinatal mental health supports, enhancing specialist eating disorder supports, providing targeted mental health supports for marginalised women and women in addiction and responding to the needs of young girls at risk of developing psychosis.
• There are now 11 multidisciplinary Eating Disorder teams in place across the country, with 100 people working across them, including 80 Eating Disorder Clinicians with 10 Consultant Psychiatrists. 6 of these teams started in 2023. Funding was recently announced for an additional Eating Disorder team which, when established, will bring the number of teams to 12.
The Women's Health Action Plan 2024-2025 Phase 2: An Evolution in Women's Health was launched on 18th April 2024. This plan represents the next phase or evolution in women's health. It continues to build on the invaluable undertaken over the previous Women's Health Action Plan 2022-2023, as well as having a focus on new and innovative developments. The services and initiatives will be embedded across the new HSE health regions. 2024 sees the allocation of over €11 million in new development funding to support the implementation of this plan, bringing the total additional funding allocated towards women's health to over €140 million since 2020. Further details relation to the Women's Health Action Plan 2024-2025 can be found here - assets.gov.ie/290734/0397244b-af0b-4dda-9b84-0da40897c723.pdf
