The GSD has called on the Government to make an “urgent and immediate statement” confirming that the gynaecology service will not be impacted or anyway impaired by the decision by midwives to take industrial action and to confirm what measures are in place to ensure that the service is provided to all those who require access to gynaecology services.

Shadow Minister for Health Elliott Phillips said: “In the summer I raised the serious issue of the lack of nurse practitioner resources at the GHA for the provision of routine cervical cancer screening and now we are seeing an even more serious issue arising in relation to gynaecology services.

“The GHA is a ticking time bomb with threatened industrial action now being thrown into the mix. The Government needs to urgently restore calm and instill public confidence in the service which has been damaged by years of Government mismanagement. We call on the Government to make an urgent and immediate statement.”