‘Double whammy of sexism and racism is enjoying out in NHS – our ache is being ignored’
Writing for The Mirror, MP Abena Oppong-Asare warns blinding pain caused by conditions such as endometriosis or fibroids is being ignored – and there’s a lack of urgency to finding a cure
Labour MP Abena Oppong-Asare warns millions of women are being ignored(Image: Sky News)
For decades, women have been fobbed off and sent packing when they visit their GP with severe period pains and heavy bleeding.
Yet for millions of women, that blinding pain is caused by conditions such as endometriosis or fibroids — and doctors keep failing to spot them.
I recently launched a survey asking my constituents about their experiences. The responses were heartbreaking: a lack of awareness, repeated failures to diagnose, and a shocking lack of urgency when women dare to speak up about their own bodies.
One in ten women have endometriosis. That’s women in every workplace, every community, every family. But the wait for a diagnosis can stretch on for years. A new report from the charity Endometriosis UK, published this week, reveals that waiting times are actually getting longer — now averaging nine years and four months.
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For Black women and women from other ethnic backgrounds, it can take eleven years. Because our pain is dismissed. Our voices are ignored. That is a double whammy of sexism and racism, playing out within our wonderful NHS.
If one in ten men suffered like this, I’d wager there would be fast-track diagnosis, paid time off work, sympathy from friends and family, and millions pumped into finding a cure. For women, there is just terrible pain, shameful stigma, and no cure in sight.
Some of the responses to my survey were truly shocking – though, sadly, not surprising. “I had to go to my GP three times and leave an utterly desperate comment begging for help until they took me seriously,” one woman told me.
“It was a condition I’d never even heard of until it started to affect me,” said another. A third described pain “so excruciating it felt worse than giving birth.”
These stories are not unusual. They reflect the experiences of millions of women over decades — women whose symptoms have been dismissed, misunderstood, or diagnosed far too late.
There are, however, reasons for hope. Greater awareness is growing, driven in part by public figures such as Emma Barnett. And this year’s BAFTA-winning short film, This Is Endometriosis, offered a deeply moving insight into life with this condition.
Its creator, Georgie Wileman, spoke powerfully after winning about how women with endometriosis are routinely dismissed or told they are exaggerating. I hope to host a screening of that film in Parliament very soon — so that those of us with the power to change things hear these stories directly.
We’ve already seen some welcome steps forward. Menopause questions will be included in the NHS Health Check. Action is being taken to cut gynaecology waiting lists. And “Jess’s Rule” now means GPs in England must think again when a woman seeks help multiple times without getting a clear diagnosis.
This International Women’s Day falls during Endometriosis Action Month. We must seize this moment. We need to tackle the taboos and get Britain talking about fibroids, endometriosis, and other gynaecological conditions — just as we eventually did with once-unmentionable topics like cancer and depression.
I’ve been raising these issues in Parliament, pushing ministers to act. The Labour government will soon launch a new Women’s Health Strategy. This is our real opportunity. We must be aiming for months, not years, for diagnosis. Doctors must be trained to spot fibroids and endometriosis the moment women come in with pain and bleeding.
No woman should ever be told to stop complaining and tough it out. One day, medical science will find a cure. Until then, we need speedy diagnosis, effective pain management, time off work, and understanding from bosses, teachers, partners, and doctors alike.
Tackling endometriosis is more than a medical issue. It is a matter of social justice – righting a centuries-old wrong inflicted on millions of women who were told they were over-reacting, over-demanding, or even mentally ill. Fast, effective, and equitable treatment for endometriosis, and for women’s health more broadly, goes to the very heart of what Labour stands for.
