Minister Stephen Donnelly opens the Regional Hub for Women's Health at Nenagh Hospital

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly visited Tipperary this morning to open the new Regional Hub for Women’s Health at Nenagh Hospital.

It consists of the ambulatory gynaecology and menopause clinics and a subfertility clinic to open later this year.

The new hub is a see-and-treat service which is intended to assess and treat women’s health conditions in one place when they go to the hospital.

“The advent of this hub will go a long way to ensuring that the women of the Midwest can receive the right care at the right time and in the right place,” said Minister Donnelly.

Minister Donnelly also said Ireland had a ‘patriarchal, dark history in terms of women’s health, and he is committed to improving services for the future.

“What we need in women’s health is a revolution. We are not looking for things to get a bit better, we have to fundamentally change the money, the priority and resources and services. And what’s happening here is incredibly exciting,” said Minister Donnelly.

The ambulatory gynaecology clinic, which opened in March this year, treats conditions like abnormal bleeding, chronic pelvic pain and other conditions on an outpatient basis.

Those involved hope the clinic will improve access to assessment and treatment, thus reducing wait times.

The specialist menopause clinic led by Dr Cathy Casey will support women experiencing life-changing symptoms of menopause.

It is believed around 25% of women in menopause will require a referral to a specialist.

Dr Casey said menopause care has traditionally been subject to misinformation, which has significantly impacted women’s lives.

“Care at the time was surrounded by myths and misconceptions and misinformation, and this has, unfortunately, left many women suffering unnecessarily and resulting in a lot of short and long-term health implications, a miserable quality of life, an adverse effect on their family lives, personal relationships and much-unrecognised impact on the workplace,” said Dr Casey.

However, she said that services like the new menopause clinic in Nenagh would help change that.

Later this year, a regional fertility clinic will also open at the hub.

It will be one of six nationwide.

There is currently a recruitment campaign underway to find a consultant for the service.

Clinical Lead for Obstetrics Dr Naro Imcha thanked Minister Donnelly for his support for the Regional Women’s Health Hub and said the services would be good for patients.

“As a team of healthcare professionals, our focus is very much on the patient experience. As well as providing new specialist services at a regional level, this hub will ease the patient journey and reduce the number of hospital visits, saving time and expense for our patients and reducing anxiety.

This is fundamentally about reducing wait times and improving quality of life, and we are delighted today to showcase what Nenagh has done to date and our plan to develop the service into the future,” said Dr Imcha.

Chief Operations Officer Noreen Spillane paid tribute to the work of the Women’s Health Taskforce and the National Women’s and Infants Health Programme in the hub’s development.

“We are privileged to be able to offer these additional services to the women of the Midwest, enhancing access to specialist care delivered by a multidisciplinary team,” concluded Ms Spillane.

Full picture caption:  Pictured at the official opening of the Regional Hub for Women's Health at Nenagh Hospital were, Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, Jackie Cahill TD, Dr Naro Imcha, Consultant Obstetrician Gynaecologist, Catrina Ryan, Director of Nursing Nenagh Hospital, Noreen Spillane, Chief Operations Officer, UL Hospital Group, Claire Hartnett, General Manager Maternal and Child Health and Dr Cathy Casey, Consultant Obstetrician Gynaecologist. Picture: Alan Place