Ipswich Star Column 02.04.26: Fighting for Better Endometriosis Care in Ipswich

Last week, I hosted a debate in Parliament on an issue that affects a huge number of women across the country, but does not receive the attention it deserves: access to specialist endometriosis services.

Endometriosis affects one in ten women, meaning more than 1.5 million women in the UK are living with a condition that causes debilitating pain, agony and trauma.

Yet for women in Ipswich, accessing the right care when they need it is almost impossible: there is no specialist endometriosis clinic at Ipswich Hospital.

Women already living with debilitating pain, who have often waited close to a decade for diagnosis, are forced to travel to access care they desperately need.

For the debate, I welcomed to Parliament a group of inspirational women from Ipswich living with the condition: Monica Thomas, Faye Ramsey, Zoe Wright, Evie Lapworth, Evie Niblock, Siana Lynch, and Kelly Harris-Flatt.

Each transformed suffering into determination, resilience and strength, battling not just for themselves, but for their friends, family and neighbours. For the women who have battled to receive the healthcare they desperately need, and those who will need to be treated far better in the future.

In my speech, I shared Monica’s story. She battled symptoms for seventeen years before finally getting a diagnosis and is now waiting for lung surgery for thoracic endometriosis.

Despite years of chest pain and breathing difficulties, Monica was refused referrals to a thoracic specialist, eventually seeking a private opinion. She lives with daily pelvic and chest pain, breathlessness, and spends many days bed bound.

Instead of giving up, Monica did something incredible, founding Women’s Health Hope, an award-winning charity dedicated to supporting, advocating for and educating about women’s health.

Faye Ramsey has collected nearly 100 stories from women who have been so badly failed for so long. She is also pushing for greater education in schools and better practices in the workplace.

We then attended a screening of Georgie Wileman’s BAFTA-winning film, ‘This Is Endometriois,’ a deeply powerful and moving portrayal of the lived reality of endometriosis.

An almost unifying experience for women with endometriosis is having their symptoms overlooked, ignored and dismissed. They are told they are overreacting, or that pain is normal for women.

In England, the average time from first seeing a GP with symptoms to diagnosis is nine years and four months.

The absence of specialist services in Ipswich reflects a historic failure to prioritise women’s health.

When specialist services are left to a postcode lottery, women in towns like ours miss out and care becomes even further out of reach.

This deepens health inequalities, delays treatment and adds unnecessary barriers to accessing essential services.

The human cost is devastating, as untreated endometriosis can profoundly impact someone’s education, career, relationships, fertility and mental health.

Women’s lives are put on hold and even changed forever. These are our neighbours, colleagues, friends, and families.

We all know women who are suffering and struggling to access care, right now.

Here in Ipswich, their lives are further disrupted by unnecessary travel for specialist services that should be available locally.

I am proud that Labour is investing in research, cutting waiting lists for gynaecology care, and expanding digital services so women can access specialist expertise online more quickly.

These measures matter, but digital access cannot replace face-to-face specialist care.

If our commitments are to mean anything for women in Ipswich, they must include equitable access to specialist endometriosis services.

We need experts embedded in our community, treating patients close to home.

We need specialist endometriosis services at Ipswich Hospital.

For too long, women living in pain has been treated as normal and expected. That should never have been accepted.

We cannot fail the next generation in the same way. We owe it to Monica, Faye, and the other women who came to Parliament, and all those who were dismissed, and left to suffer in silence.

Women must be listened to. They require timely diagnoses. They should receive proper treatment close to home. They deserve a health system that finally offers the services they desperately need.