Gynaecological emergencies are conditions that can seriously threaten a woman’s life, health, fertility or, in some cases, her sexual function. These emergencies can happen during pregnancy—such as ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage or complications following termination—or completely outside pregnancy, including ovarian cyst accidents, ovary or fallopian torsion, pelvic inflammatory disease, heavy bleeding, malignancy or severe infection. Although these conditions can have significant and long-term effects, Ireland currently has no national system that tracks how often they occur, how women are treated or what outcomes they experience.
While maternity care is well audited through the National Perinatal Epidemiology Centre, emergency gynaecology remains largely disregarded at national level. Key questions—such as whether women receive timely diagnosis, whether minimally invasive surgery is available, or whether reproductive organs can be protected during surgery—are not consistently recorded. International research has shown that where a woman lives, her social circumstances, or the resources available in the local hospital can strongly influence the emergency care she receives. Many European countries audit gynaecological emergencies and care pathways; Ireland currently does not.
This event is designed to raise national awareness, increase visibility of women’s experiences, and lay the groundwork for more consistent, evidence informed emergency gynaecology care. Led by the RCSI Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology based at the Rotunda Hospital, the workshop will bring together women with lived experiences, clinicians, researchers, data specialists and policymakers. Building on new research using the HSE National Quality Assurance and Improvement System (NQAIS) database, the event will explore what we currently know – and what we urgently need to know – about emergency gynaecology in Ireland.