Sinn Féin spokesperson on Health, David Cullinane TD, has called on the Minister for Health to ensure the urgent re-opening of the Gay Men’s Health Service, and has called for the service to be expanded to include mental health and better geographic access.

Teachta Cullinane said:

“The Gay Men’s Health Service must be re-opened as a matter of urgency.

“This has been closed since the onset of the pandemic, and staff have been seconded to testing & tracing.

“This is a matter of great concern for campaigners who I have met with this week.

“The redeployment of vital community healthcare staff has been an ongoing issue during the pandemic and highlights the abject failure of Government to hire enough testing and tracing staff.

“We were assured that the necessary dedicated workforce would be in place by now. That does not seem to be the case.

“Redeployed staff need to be allowed back to work, and the existing staffing for the Gay Men’s Health Service needs to be expanded.

“The Service also needs to be expanded to include mental health, address geographic disparities in access, and address other needs of gay men.

“We also need to see much broader investment in LGBT health services going forward, they have been deprioritised for too long.”