SDLP Foyle MLA Sinead McLaughlin
It follows correspondence from the Department of Health indicating that some work is taking place to coordinate actions on the highest priority areas of women’s health.
Said the Foyle MLA: “It is welcome to see that the Department of Health appears to understand that action is needed on the inequalities that far too many women face when it comes to accessing our healthcare.
“Like many women, I was glad that a rapid review was announced recently in relation to gynaecology waiting times and it is encouraging to secure a commitment that the Department will take whatever actions it can, within current budgets, to act on the recommendations from the forthcoming results of this review.
“However, I am very concerned that the Department is taking a piecemeal approach when it comes to this issue, which will never be enough to properly dismantle the barriers that women face.
“While the Permanent Secretary is indicating that some work is underway to improve coordination and maximise service delivery, the truth is that for far too many women, the service itself is completely inaccessible and there is still an unacceptable stigma and taboo about our healthcare in so many areas.
“I recently delivered a survey which gathered over five hundred responses and revealed the scale of the crisis facing women when it comes to their access to healthcare, both here in Derry and across the North.
“In this survey, almost 90% of respondents felt there was inadequate service provision available for the biggest healthcare issues facing women, listing mental health, gynaecological health, menopause and violence against women and girls as some of those most pressing challenges that they face.
“Many others also raised the demands of childcare and caring, long waiting lists and stigma and taboo in the health service.
“I am engaging with experts in the field of women’s healthcare on the results of this survey and will be compiling a comprehensive public case to the Department based on these results, both to evidence the need for a funded Strategy and to call for immediate action in the interim while it is developed.
“In this correspondence, the Department has indicated that its ability to plan strategically is constrained by the current budgetary uncertainty.
“I have, therefore, further written to ask the Department whether a Women’s Health Strategy would be commissioned should the budget become available and whether it has undertaken any work to understand the scale of funding that would be necessary.”
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