A VASECTOMY SERVICE will continue to be available in Co Donegal, the Minister for Health, Mr Noonan, pledged yesterday. He will not insist on continuation of the clinic at Letterkenny General Hospital, but the option of having a vasectomy would have to be available in the area.
However, Mr Noonan said he would like the decision about the future of the clinic to be made locally. "But it is not an option that there will not be facility in Donegal", he added.
Mr Noonan, who was speaking at the publication of the "Plan for Women's Health" yesterday, said that health boards knew that they had a statutory obligation to provide a wide range of family planning services.
"I am sticking by that position. Men and women should be able to choose which form of family planning is most compatible to their circumstances. It is quite clear that vasectomies are legal and there are no prohibitions on public hospitals performing them. Health boards are to ensure they are available in public hospitals", Mr Noonan said.
The Minister described as a "blast from the past" the action by some members of the medical profession in placing a picket on the vasectomy clinic in Letterkenny. "I thought Ireland had moved on from that", he said.
He had been informed by the North Western Health Board that the vasectomy clinic at Letterkenny General Hospital had not been cancelled. He understood that a number of men had availed of the facility. Up to three men were on a waiting list.
Mr Noonan said that the Bishop of Raphoe, Dr Boyce, had not said the State should shut down the clinic. "I listened carefully to what he said. Actually what he did was to given moral advice to his flock. I never have a problem with the Church teaching or instructing its flock in any way. In my view, he stayed within his province, just as Bishop Mehaffey did. I think a satisfactory solution will be found through the health board."
The Minister said that the "Plan for Women's Health" was the result of a "unique process" of consultation which had taken place with women during the past 18 months about their health needs and their priorities for improvements in the health services.
The plan addressed 12 key issues relating to Women's health. These included the availability and accessibility of health information; the development of screening programmes for breast and cervical cancer, which had been previously announced; the provision of enhanced family planning and maternity services; the improvement of services for women who are victims of violence and the increased availability of counselling services.
One of the principal objectives of the plan, he said, was to maximise health gain by reducing premature mortality from cardiovascular disease, cancer and accidents. One of the key demands during the consultative process had been for a more "women friendly service".
Mr Noonan said that he would be establishing a Women's Health Council. He announced a grant of £75,000 to the National Women's Council for the development of structures. This will assist the council in the establishment of a support structure to provide information, advice and support to women's representatives on the women's health committees at regional level.
The Fianna Fail spokesman on health, Mr Brian Cowen, described the plan as a "rehash" of other documents and said that it was "nothing more than a public relations exercise".