Minister Simon Harris finally driven to act on CUMH crisis

Minister Simon Harris received letters in May and October about the state of gynaecology services at CUMH but did nothing, writes Health Correspondent Catherine Shanahan

Catherine Byrne, minister of state for communities and the drugs strategy, knows what it’s like to have a gynaecological problem. She told the Seanad as much when she deputised yesterday for Health Minister Simon Harris.

She’s a mother of five, and has, on occasion, had to present at the emergency department (ED) for that very reason. Her own experience means she can empathise with the thousands of women stuck on an interminable waiting list for the gynaecology service at Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH). Like Deputy Byrne, many of these women also end up, in crisis, in the ED.