Key clinic stops care for cardholders

ONE of the country’s busiest family planning clinics has had to cancel services for medical card holders due to lack of funding.

The cancellation comes at a time when the State agency established to combat the high rate of crisis is calling for more and better resourced contraceptive services.

The Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) suspended its contraceptive services for medical card holders at its main clinic in Cathal Brugha Street, Dublin, last month because of insufficient funding from the Northern Area Health Board (NAHB).

The IFPA used up its annual grant from the NAHB by mid-September due to a surge in the number of medical card holders using its services.

IFPA chief executive Catherine Heaney said they had provided almost 4,000 appointments to medical card clients from their city centre clinic. In the month of September alone, 700 cardholders visited the clinic.

She warned the cutbacks in services could have serious consequences for patients amid an increase in crisis pregnancies and pointed out that many of their clients were disadvantaged and young people.

A spokesperson for the NAHB said its annual grant to the IFPA had increased from 20,000 in 2000 to 154,000 in this year.

He said the board, due to meet the IFPA to discuss funding for 2004 in January, was committed to extending family planning services to medical card holders.

Ms Heaney said they wanted to provide a demand-led service for cardholders an ambition that must be reflected in the grant from the health board for next year.

Crisis Pregnancy Agency director Sharon Foley said they wanted to work with family planning agencies and the Government to increase the availability of contraception services.

"Of course, contraceptive services need to be adequately funded and developed, especially with research showing that the use of contraception is particularly low among women seeking abortion," she said.

The agency's strategy, presented yesterday to Health Minister Micheál Martin, describes the country's contraceptive service as poorly developed. A key recommendation is the provision of high quality, accessible and affordable contraceptive services established both within GP practices and also in specialised services.