Vasectomies: GPs to resume procedures in Northern Ireland

Vasectomies are to be carried out by GPs instead of men needing to attend hospital for the procedure.

In 2023 funding was withdrawn from general practice which meant services including vasectomies, dermatology and menopause clinics could no longer be provided.

Health Minister Robin Swann has said vasectomy services will now be transferred back to GPs.

It will involve about £450,000 a year being reallocated to primary care.

The Department of Health said it would take effect immediately, with a transition phase throughout 2024-25.

From 2025-26 onwards, primary care will be the sole provider of health service vasectomy services.

This now means the service has been mostly removed from the health trusts and parked in general practices instead.

"My decision will ensure a more localised service for patients, and I am confident it will result in hundreds more procedures being provided in the first year alone," Mr Swann said.

About 1,000 patients are currently on hospital waiting lists for the procedure, but health officials said a more localised service would means patients could be seen more quickly.

Scalpel-free vasectomies have been provided by GPs in recent years through the primary care elective care service.

Funding, however, had been on a non-recurrent basis and was not provided for the second half of 2023-24 due to health service budgetary pressures.

Dr Joe Devlin, clinical director for the Primary Care Vasectomy Service, said the announcement on Wednesday was "very positive news for primary care".

"We have been providing a high quality, easily accessible, cost-effective vasectomy service in primary care for several years now," he added.

"The announcement by the minister today provides long-term security for the future of the service, allowing us to plan more effectively to deliver and develop the service.

"It is a welcome vote of confidence in primary care that it can be the main provider of important services like this."

GPs are trained to perform vasectomies to help tackle hospital waiting lists.

When services were removed from them in 2023, the chairman of the Northern Ireland GP Committee, Dr Alan Stout, said GPs were angry they could not provide the service.

It will be interesting to see if this move will be followed by other services being transferred from the health trusts to GPs instead.