Figures from the HSE show that 896 women are currently on waiting lists for endometriosis treatment across four hospitals.
According to a document obtained by BreakingNews.ie, nearly 900 patients are awaiting treatment at the Rotunda, Tallaght University Hospital (TUH), Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH), and the Coombe Hospital, reports Breaking News.
At the Rotunda, 369 women were on waiting lists by the end of September. Of these, 90 have been waiting between nine and 12 months, while 63 have been waiting for more than a year.
TUH has 356 women awaiting care for endometriosis, with most — 83 patients — waiting between zero and three months, reports Breaking News.
A total of 74 women have been waiting over a year, and 71 are waiting between three and six months.
At CUMH, 93 women need treatment, with 84 waiting between zero and three months, reports Breaking News.
By late September, the Coombe had 78 women on its waiting lists, 44 of whom have been waiting up to three months.
Endometriosis involves cells similar to the uterine lining growing outside the womb, causing numerous symptoms, with some patients experiencing long-term and severe pain, reports Breaking News.
It is estimated to affect up to one in seven women in Ireland, and there is no known cure.
Two supra-regional specialist centres for complex endometriosis have been established at TUH and CUMH, reports Breaking News.
These centres will be backed by five regional hubs for moderate cases. Services in the Coombe, Rotunda and Limerick are already operating, with the remaining two still being set up.
In October, Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill stated that women and girls presenting with symptoms of endometriosis will now be treated under the assumption that they have the condition.
The minister said this approach acknowledges that women are “the best narrators of their own symptoms, of their own pain, and we’re trying to change the way in which their voices are heard in relation to endometriosis”, reports Breaking News.
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