3342. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Health the number of specialist menopause clinics operating nationally; the locations of these clinics; her plans to expand access; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55850/26]

In general, most menopause care is provided in the primary care setting. There are six specialist menopause clinics providing services, one in each maternity network, for women who require complex, specialist menopause care that cannot be suitably managed within the community.

These clinics accept GP referrals and are located in the National Maternity Hospital, the Rotunda Hospital, the Coombe Hospital, Nenagh Hospital, Galway University Hospital and Cork University Maternity Hospital.

Over 1,900 new patients were seen across the six Specialist Menopause Services in 2025. Additional funding was provided last year to further expand on our existing specialist menopause services.

The purpose of the specialist menopause clinics is to accept clinically appropriate referrals from GPs within their respective maternity network and provide specialist medical advice and management to the following cohort of symptomatic women:

· Women whose treatment within primary care settings does not improve their menopausal symptoms;

· Women who are experiencing on-going troublesome or clinically significant side effects further to treatment within primary care setting e.g. bleeding;

· Women who have contra-indications to HRT and

· Women about whom there are uncertainty about the most suitable treatment option for their menopausal symptoms e.g. complex medical history.

Each specialist clinic comprises teams made up of Consultants/Specialist GPs, Clinical Nurse Specialists/Clinical Midwife Specialists and Admin staff.