LIMERICK City and County Council is write to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly in support of Vicky Phelan’s call for the establishment of a Minister for Women’s Health.
A motion from Fine Gael councillor Olivia O’Sullivan that was passed unanimously at last Monday’s Metropolitan District meeting, also calls for an update from the Minister on the progress of the Patient Safety Bill.
“The government must listen to her calls for the establishment of a Minister for Women’s Health. How many more health scandals must women endure before we recognise the need to deal with our inequalities in the system?” Cllr O’Sullivan asked.
“We need women to know that action is being taken on our specific health needs, that we are not less important. We need to study women – women are routinely underrepresented in clinical trials, and we need to fund more medical research proposed by women, for women.”
She went onto say that other countries have recognised the need to address this.
“Scotland has a ministry for women’s health, in December England announced a women’s health ambassador is to be appointed – it is time we listen to Vicky Phelan and establish a Ministry in Ireland with the sole focus on women’s health,” she added.
In addition, Cllr O’Sullivan also urged the Health Minister to make the Patient Safety Bill a priority.
“Open disclosure and mandatory reporting will bring Ireland in line with international best practice in a patient-centric approach. Progress here is simply taking too long – we need reassurances that the Patient Safety Bill is still a priority for Minister Donnelly,” she concluded.
