An Exploration of Emergency Gynaecology Care in Ireland

Sometimes, women can have sudden gynaecological problems that need urgent surgery. They can happen during pregnancy, such as ectopic pregnancies or miscarriages. They can also happen when not pregnant, such as problems with ovarian cysts, or complications after surgery. These emergencies can affect a woman’s health, her ability to have children, and overall wellbeing.

Good care for these emergencies often includes keyhole surgery (a type of surgery using smaller surgical cuts). This type of surgery can be used if women can quickly get an ultrasound scan and see a trained specialist. However, access to emergency gynaecology services in Ireland is not equal, with differences between urban and rural areas. To date, this has not been fully studied.

This research is in partnership with the National Women and Infants Health Programme (NWIHP). We will use national hospital data (NQAIS) to look at emergency gynaecology care in Ireland. Our goal is to find gaps or delays in care. We want to help improve services so that all women, no matter where they live, can have equal access to timely, life-saving gynaecological care.

Patient and Public Involvement (PPI)

As part of the project, we want to hear from patients about their real experiences. We want to understand what worked well, and what could be improved in the future. Your views will help us learn what matters most to patients. This will help us develop a patient survey, ensuring it asks the right questions and reflects real experiences.

What will PPI contributors do?

PPI contributors will take part in an online one-off consultation (via Microsoft Teams). The workshop will last about 1.5 hours and will take place on the 3rd of July.

During the meeting, you will:

• Take part in a guided discussion about your experiences
• Share your views on what worked well and what could be improved
• Highlight what matters most to you in emergency gynaecology care

As part of this meeting, you’re very welcome to draw on your own experiences to share your views, but you won’t be asked to share any details unless you feel comfortable doing so. Your input will help shape a future patient survey and ensure the research focuses on what is most important to women receiving care.

Who can take part?

We are looking for 4 women aged 18 or over, living in Ireland, who have personal lived experiences of gynaecological care. This may include:

• Minimally invasive surgery (e.g. laparoscopy “keyhole surgery” or hysteroscopy)
• Problems with ovarian or tubal cyst (for example, ovarian torsion, bleeding, or rupture)
• Emergency pregnancy complications (including miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, or termination of pregnancy) that needed surgery
• Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) that needed treatmentor radiological diagnosis
• Endometriosis that needed emergency admission and surgery
• Heavy or sudden vaginal bleeding that needed emergency surgery to diagnose or treat the condition
• Malignancy that showed up as an emergency and needed surgery to diagnose or treat the condition

To take part, you must:

• live in Ireland
• be 18 years old or over
• be able to speak English