Laois 'excruciating' endometriosis set for Dáil

Laois Sinn Féin Senator Maria McCormack has welcomed her party’s intention bring the endometriosis care campaign to the Dáil in an effort to improve services for local women and thousands of others affected across the state.

She said the move follows a series of public meetings in Portlaoise and elsewhere hosted by Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald with those impacted by endometriosis across the state. 

Sen McCormack commented in a statement to the Leinster Express / Laois Live after a motion was submitted to the Dáil on Monday, May 19. 

“Over the last number of weeks, we have held public meetings across the state and one thing has been very, very clear.

“The HSE is not delivering basic healthcare for the many women across Ireland who are suffering from endometriosis – a disease that is as common as diabetes.

“It is taking an average of nine years to be diagnosed, and even then, we have women being misdiagnosed and often told that they are ‘imagining the pain’, she said.

Portlaoise-based McCormack said a response to a Parliamentary Question received by her party's Health spokesperson David Cullinane TD, reveals that the majority of patients, who are extremely ill, are waiting up to six months to be seen.

The Laois general election candidate said the HSE is not delivering. MORE BELOW LINK

READ ALSO: Mary Lou in tears at Laois women's experiences

“While our engagement with patients is ongoing, it is clear that the current diagnostic and treatment pathways offered by the HSE are not fit for purpose, or in keeping with international best practice.

“Women are being left in excruciating pain, with many forced to go abroad for specialist care to avoid further damage to vital organs, unnecessary hysterectomies, or simply being left in pain so severe that they are unable to function and go about their day-to-day lives.

“When difficulties related to accessing care were raised with the Taoiseach a few weeks ago by my party leader Mary Lou McDonald TD, they were met with callousness by the Taoiseach.

“Women are asking us to move on this now, and that is what we are doing. We are listening to the hundreds of patients across the country who are desperate for help.

“This motion calls out decades of failure in the delivery of endometriosis care and demands immediate access to improved imaging, fast-track referrals, and funding for specialist excision surgery, as well as the establishment of a specialist centre of excellence with a full multidisciplinary team.

“We’ve held meetings in Donegal, Portlaoise and Drogheda – areas of the country where women with this disease are often forgotten about. In the coming weeks, we will hold further public meetings in Monaghan, Galway, Cork, Clare, Wexford and Kilkenny.

“This is not just a women’s health issue – it is a health scandal, and it is happening on our watch. We are calling on all parties to back this motion when it comes before the Dáil. Women deserve better,” she said.

Deputy McDonald was joined by Sen McCormack at a public meeting on the topic in Wynn’s Hotel, Dublin on May 19.