FIGO publishes a new statement on disparities in patients’ access to benign gynaecological surgery
FIGO has published a new statement on disparities in patients’ access to benign gynaecological surgery as a Special Communication in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics (IJGO).
Written by the director of the FIGO Division of Benign Surgery and the chairs of FIGO’s committees on Urogynaecology and Pelvic Floor Disorders, Obstetric Fistula and Minimal Access Surgery, the statement highlights the many barriers faced by women in accessing health services, particularly when it comes to accessing surgical procedures.
FIGO emphasises that too often, women do not have timely access, do not receive complete and adequate information and do not always have the capacity to express an opinion about the procedures to which they will submit.
FIGO has put forward recommendations to ensure that global policies are put in place to reduce inequality in patients’ access to safe, indicated and high-quality gynaecological surgery. FIGO highlights the need for the right surgery, by the right professional and at the right time for each and every patient.
All of us involved in health care must work hard to make visible the inequality in patient access to benign gynecological surgery. Patients have the right to fast, safe and effective access to high-quality gynaecological surgery: the right patient, the right surgery, by the right surgeon, at the right time.
– Dr Juan Diego Villegas, Director of the FIGO Division of Benign Surgery