Debate contribution: Women's Health Strategy

Debate contribution by Miss Nuala McAllister on 13 February 2024.

MLA

Miss Nuala McAllister

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

13 February 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Women's Health Strategy

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4206173

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I beg to move

The motion calls for the creation of a fully budgeted women's health strategy, addressing every aspect of a woman's life from birth as a priority. Many women's organisations, medical organisations and lobby groups have been in touch over the past week but also over the past decade to lobby us and to ensure that we highlight the issue and that we can get support across the Chamber for a women's health strategy. There are many issues that we can talk about today, and each of those organisations has highlighted the matter to me and, I am sure, other MLAs in the Chamber. I pay tribute to one such group, members of which are in the Public Gallery behind me today. Members of Nothing About Us Without Us have been working on the issue for years to ensure that their voices as women are heard when it comes to the commissioning of such a strategy. I move on to the motion. It is an unfortunate reality that women often face additional barriers in accessing proper healthcare. Health concerns presented by women are still too frequently dismissed or incorrectly attributed to mental health or menstruation and the monthly cycle. Women are more likely to receive incorrect diagnoses for conditions such as strokes or heart attacks, and that leads to a delay in treatment and worse outcomes. Evidence has shown that a lack of research into conditions that specifically affect women can lead to poor health advice, missed diagnoses, delayed or ineffective treatment and overall worse outcomes. Conditions such as endometriosis often go undiagnosed for years, further exacerbating women's health disparities. Therefore, if we are to tackle the health inequalities facing women, we must take a holistic approach that encompasses all aspects of healthcare. It must begin with ensuring that there is proper health education for women. From puberty to pregnancy and from menopause to mental health, we must ensure that everyone is equipped, not just women, with the facts around the health challenges that specifically impact on women throughout our lives. Proper screening and early diagnosis is crucial to ensuring improved health outcomes. That includes the need for improved screening for gynaecological cancers. The current delay in smear test results, which can sometimes be up to six months, undoubtedly causes anxiety and could have a devastating impact on a patient's prognosis. We are talking about a cancer that could be eliminated within the lifetime of today's young girls. I am sure that everyone in the Chamber will agree that we all felt the angst around the current issues with the trusts' review of cervical cancer, with some probing back as far as 2008. Any strategy must include lessons learned from those reviews and ways in which we can mitigate late diagnosis in a cancer that we can eliminate. It is Sexual Health Week, and, through proper factual health and sexual health education, young girls can equip themselves with the proper information about their bodies, their health and how their life can impact on their health. Of course, contraception is a vital element, and it is imperative that any women's health strategy includes raising awareness of the various forms of contraception and the effects that they have on our bodies. Too often, young girls are pointed to specific contraception without knowledge of what is on offer and what may be best suited to their bodies. Fertility treatment, pregnancy health and post-partum health are also key components of a women's health strategy. I have recently been engaging with the Royal College of Midwives, an organisation that has provided vital representation for midwives and advocacy around maternity issues for years. It highlights the impact of a woman's health on maternity services. The healthier women are at the start of their pregnancies, the better the chances of a more straightforward pregnancy and birth. Pregnancy is an opportunity for women to avail themselves of health services that may impact on and improve their health overall. It is a period of several months in which women will be in contact with healthcare professionals. They are usually younger women, and, therefore, they are at a time in their life when they can change unhealthy habits before those habits have taken an irreversible toll on their bodies. Importantly, maternity care is a moment to spot mental health issues and get them treated. The importance of perinatal mental health cannot be overstated. However, in a women's health strategy, those maternity services, including mental health services, should be part and parcel of a holistic approach. The motion also discusses the importance of the inclusion of menopause services. We need to see specialist menopause clinics and a distinct menopause strategy in the action plan, because, too often, education and awareness around that has been lacking, with women left unprepared for the realities of menopause. I was glad to see that so many of our male MLAs took the opportunity to wear the MenoVest last week with Over The Bloody Moon and get a taste of what women experiencing menopause will go through. That is important, and any other MLA who would like to avail themselves of that service should do so to get a taste of what it is like for older Members. I thank the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy for highlighting the crucial role that physiotherapy can play in addressing many of the health inequalities that women face by providing tailored care for women throughout their lifespan. From prenatal care to post-partum rehabilitation, pelvic health, menstrual health, menopausal health, breast health and preventative care, physiotherapy can offer comprehensive support for women's unique health needs. That is just one example of how the strategy can and must take a holistic approach. It is also important to note that any strategy must take account of the additional issues that women from different socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds face. There are clear disparities in health outcomes and life expectancy between the most and least economically prosperous areas of Northern Ireland. Research has also clearly shown that women from ethnic minorities face additional barriers when accessing healthcare, with particular challenges presenting in maternity care. If we are to properly address that, there must be an intersectional approach. I welcome the amendment submitted by Linda Dillon and Liz Kimmins. It asks for a reduction in the gender gap in cardiovascular outcomes to be included, and we will support it today. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in Northern Ireland, with, according to the British Heart Foundation, around 26,000 women here living with heart disease. There is a clear need for a gendered approach to tackling the prevalence of heart disease and the disadvantage that women face at every stage of the patient pathway. I was glad to see that the Minister referenced the need for a women's health action plan in his remarks when returning to office last week. That work is long overdue. Work had begun in the Department but, unfortunately, was delayed by the pandemic and the collapse of the Assembly. It is important that any such action plan takes on board a co-design approach with the many organisations and practitioners who are experts in the field. It is crucial that work resumes as soon as possible on the strategy to ensure that women in Northern Ireland can have confidence that their health is a priority for the new Executive.

1,232 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 09:35 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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