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A 32-year-old woman is waiting for surgery to treat a “horrific” gynaecological condition that has left her unable to work and unable to conceive naturally. Speaking to the BBC, Gabriella Pearson explains that women are told to “put up and shut up” when experiencing painful health issues. Pearson started her periods aged 10 and described them as “painful from the start”. She added that women had been taught to “just get on with it because that’s what you’re told your whole life – especially as a woman.”
The Westminster Women and Equalities Committee has warned that “misogyny in medicine” is resulting in women facing long delays for diagnosis and treatment of conditions such as heavy periods, endometriosis and adenomyosis. Chairwoman Sarah Owen said that women were being “fobbed off” and added that “it would not happen if it was a man”. The report found that there was a “clear lack of awareness and understanding of women’s reproductive health conditions among primary healthcare practitioners”, and that stigma around these issues had resulted in a lack of research, specialists and treatment. As a result, gynaecological waiting lists have grown faster than those for any other medical specialty, with over 755,000 women’s health appointments currently waiting to happen across the UK.
The committee has called for the NHS to “urgently implement a training programme” to improve women and girls’ experiences accessing diagnosis and treatment for gynaecological conditions. The report comes after an inquiry that included interviews with women such as BBC presenter Naga Munchetty and TV personality Vicky Pattison. According to the Office for National Statistics, 2% of women aged 15-49 in England are estimated to have an endometriosis diagnosis, with up to one in three experiencing heavy menstrual bleeding and one in 10 suffering from endometriosis or adenomyosis.
A Labour MP, Owen stated that the “situation” was a result of “systemic misogyny that we need to address”. Owen also called for women with diagnosed and suspected reproductive health conditions to be offered specialist mental health support. Dr Henrietta Hughes, patient safety commissioner for England, welcomed the report but argued that the NHS needed to involve patients more in their care. In a statement, the Department of Health and Social Care in England described the situation as “totally unacceptable”. The government has pledged to overhaul women’s healthcare, with £26bn of additional funding being invested into the NHS. Health ministers in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have similarly stated that plans are in place to tackle long waiting times
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