Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

There are not 35,000 people with endometriosis on outpatient gynaecology lists. Approximately 700 are waiting for endometriosis surgeries. An additional colorectal post has been prioritised and advertised for recruitment in Cork University Hospital. The time it will take will depend on the interest generated but I very much hope it will be done as soon as possible.

The Deputy is correct. I do not necessarily want women to be travelling abroad. I would much rather they get surgery here but it is not an either-or situation. I want them to be able to get the right surgery as soon as possible. As we scale up, we must also facilitate women to be able to get the surgery they need. There will be a major conference in January, which will be driven by the Royal College of Physicians and the college of obstetrics regarding endometriosis and the skills available here.

One surgeon, who will remain nameless, offered to travel with her patient to a clinic in the UK to shadow the surgery and better inform herself in order to learn how to provide a better service to her patients. It is that sort of leaning in that I have seen from consultants in recent months who want to provide a service to women, many of whom have advocated for this and want to do more and better for their patients. I was heartened to hear that story from a patient about her surgeon.

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