A GP surgery in Dublin holds a men's health clinic every week in an attempt to encourage more men to visit their doctor and look after their health.

Irish men currently live an average of five years less than Irish women. They have higher death rates in cancer and heart disease and are more likely to engage in risky behaviour, and alcohol and drug abuse.

Irish men are also up to four times more likely to die by suicide compared to Irish women.

According to Dr Darach Ó Ciardha, who works with colleagues in a practice in Tallaght, men living in deprived areas face even bigger challenges. For example, recent findings by the Irish Cancer Society revealed that people living in deprived areas are twice as likely to develop and die from cancer than people living in more affluent areas.

"If we factor in the effects of crime, violence poor educational achievement and high levels of adult illiteracy, the uphill struggle faced by men in this environment is obvious," he noted.

Dr Ó Ciardha pointed to a 2011 European report, which described a number of barriers to men accessing primary (GP) care, such as rushed consultations, delays in getting appointments and waiting rooms that appeared to be designed for women.

"A glance into our waiting rooms I suspect may confirm that this is the case in Ireland also," he commented.

The doctors decided to tackle this head on and 18 months ago, they made ‘Friday morning men's health morning'.

"It runs for one session, on a Friday morning, and all members of the practice team are invested in it. Our nurse promotes it to partners, sisters and mothers of the men we haven't seen and we mention it opportunistically in consultation with the men we do see," Dr Ó Ciardha explained.

Posters about the clinic are also displayed on the walls of the waiting room and consultation rooms.

"Our reception team is well briefed, looking past the gruff, chaotic, inarticulate enquiries from some men about needing to be seen, and they are given an appointment for Friday morning," he said.

He noted that appointment times are ‘generous' and follow-up appointments tend to be ‘brisker but still more than sufficient'.

Dr Ó Ciardha acknowledged that visiting patterns at the clinic can be ‘sporadic and inconsistent, with failure to follow up not unusual'.

"However, we are taking a long-term view and male visability in the practice has increased," he pointed out.

He said that some consultations ‘unearth deep-seated issues that reveal a real dysfunction in the way some men seek help'.

"There is no magic wand, but carving out a bit of time for men is what is needed. Men die on average five years younger than women. We have known this for a long time and we have accepted this for far too long," he added.

Dr Ó Ciardha made his comments in Forum, the Journal of the Irish College of General Practitioners.