Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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1268. To ask the Minister for Health if a new specialist endometriosis centre for complex care will be established in Galway. [13868/24]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is committed to promoting and improving women’s health outcomes. Endometriosis has been recognised as part of the work of the Women’s Health Taskforce and is included in the Women's Health Action Plan 2022-2023, as part of a priority workstream on improving gynaecological health for women and girls.

In relation to endometriosis care in Ireland, the HSE's National Women & Infants Health Programme (NWIHP) is in the final stages of developing a National Endometriosis Framework in conjunction with endometriosis specialists and gynaecologists. This new Model of Care for endometriosis identifies how care for women in this area needs to be delivered and will cover primary (GP) care to local hospital care to specialist complex care.

The framework provides for five regional hubs, including Galway (UHG) to coordinate care within the maternity networks. These regional hubs support two supra-regional sites in Tallaght and Cork for management of complex cases of endometriosis. NWIHP has advised that all hubs and supra-regional sites are currently operational and taking referrals. Work is on-going in each of the hubs, to streamline endometriosis referrals into specific clinics. It is expected that services will expand as full teams are recruited.