Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly has published the National Women and Infants Health Programme’s (NWIHP) Annual Report for 2022.
The NWIHP’s role in the Health Service Executive (HSE) is to lead the management, organisation and delivery of maternity, gynaecology and neonatal services, strengthening these services by bringing together work that is currently undertaken across primary, community and acute care.
Minister Donnelly said:
“As Minister for Health, improving women’s health is one of my priorities, and implementing the National Maternity Strategy continues to be an important part of the broader health agenda under the Programme for Government. Building on the substantial investment in 2021, I am pleased to see this Report clearly demonstrate that the increased investment in 2022, including almost €8.7 million for the National Maternity Strategy, is having a positive impact on women’s healthcare.
“The focus we have placed on women’s health is making a difference, and the targeted investment is translating into improvements for patients. For example, over 100 full-time staff were funded for our maternity services in 2022, allowing us to increase choice of care even further by ensuring that all 19 units now have an advanced midwifery practitioner to implement the supported care pathway. We have also added clinical midwifery specialists in areas such as diabetes, parentcraft and high-risk pregnancy, and we have funded and advanced the development of postnatal care hubs. The Ambulatory Gynaecology Model of Care continued to be rolled out, with a total of 12 clinics operational by the end of 2022. There was also significant development in the areas of menopause, endometriosis, and fertility, with new services delivered and progressed throughout the year. I look forward to seeing continued progress in these developments, leading to improved supports and better outcomes for women.”
The NWIHP was established to drive the implementation of the National Maternity Strategy and, in that regard, the Programme has overseen significant improvements in our maternity services over the last six years as well as driving more recent reforms to our gynaecology services.
Minister Donnelly concluded:
“The NWIHP has contributed enormously to the development of our maternity services, and more recently to other areas of women’s health such as reforming our gynaecology services. The Programme’s Annual Report shows that efforts to provide quality and timely health care to women in Ireland continued in earnest across 2022 and I would like to commend NWIHP for the progress they have made.”
Bernard Gloster, CEO of the HSE, stated:
“I welcome the publication of the National Women and Infants Health Programme’s Annual Report for 2022. This is such an important aspect of healthcare and ensuring the safety and health of women and babies is a central element of what we do.
“The remit of NWIHP has expanded significantly since its establishment and has seen very substantial reforms of gynaecology services and women’s health. The continued investment in these services in 2022 has facilitated this change and the excellent progress in implementing the National Maternity Strategy.”