Women and girls who want to highlight the challenges of living with endometriosis have taken part in a protest in Dublin city today calling for better supports.
Their banners showcased the problems of debilitating pain from the disease as they called on the Government to provide more options to allow them access to treatment.
The chanted “Ho Ho Ho, Irish healthcare is too slow” as they made their way from St Stephen’s Green to Leinster House.
Banners showcased the problems of debilitating pain
They said while the new national endometriosis framework, which was announced two months ago, is a step forward in fast-tracking diagnosis of the disease, there are many outstanding issues.
One of their main concerns is the financial cover for surgery abroad.
While there is the option of getting excision surgery overseas in countries like Greece and Romania under the Cross Border Directive, it means they must pay upfront before being reimbursed afterwards.
They are calling for the surgery to be included specifically in the Endometriosis Surgery Abroad Interim Scheme (ESAIS).
Lisa Walsh from Limerick said her surgery cost €20,000, which she paid for before being reimbursed afterwards.
Campaign groups say around 300,000 women in Ireland have the disease
She said she was fortunate to be able to have the surgery but many others are left without this option as they cannot afford to pay upfront.
Campaign groups say around 300,000 women in Ireland have the disease and 30,000 of these are complex cases.