Member's statement: Well Woman Centres

Member's statement by Mrs Linda Dillon on 26 November 2024.

MLA

Mrs Linda Dillon

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

26 November 2024

Type

Member's statement

Business

Members' Statements

Heading

Well Woman Centres

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4677212

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I am concerned about ovarian cancer. I am particularly concerned about the misunderstanding of the symptoms of ovarian cancer and the failure, by many, to acknowledge the fact that women's health has been ignored over many years. We do not promote it in the way that it should be promoted, and we urgently need a women's health strategy from the Department of Health. In case there are women who do not know that they may have the symptoms of ovarian cancer, I will highlight those symptoms. The most common symptoms are having a swollen tummy, feeling full quickly when eating, feeling bloated or having a painful tummy or pelvic area. If you have any of those symptoms, you should contact your GP. You should trust yourself and believe that you know your body better than anybody else. The medical professional who you speak to should believe that you know your body better than anybody else and listen to you. I heard a piece on women's health by Marie-Louise Connolly on 'Good Morning Ulster' this morning. It was about women's health and the women's health hubs that are being developed in England under its women's health strategy. It is worth acknowledging that we have been well ahead of the game here: not because of our health service but because of women in the North. The first well woman centre was set up by a group of friends in Derry: a group of women who said that services and information for women were not good enough. There were a number of well woman clinics across the North. When I was a young woman and growing up, there was one in my nearest major town. I am talking about there being a well woman clinic in Newry town over 30 years ago. I was able to access that well woman clinic, which had all the services that a young woman might need, whether around their menstrual cycle, access to contraception or access to advice. Whatever you needed, you could get it in those well woman clinics. They also helped women dealing with the prenatal and postnatal stages of pregnancy and women going through the menopause. They offered many services, and the well woman clinic in Derry continues to do that to this day. I am glad that the Health Minister is working with the well woman clinic to do a survey and get information on what we need in relation to women's health. We all know, however, that women have been underserved, undervalued and neglected over many years when it comes to our health. It is long past time that a proper women's health strategy was in place to protect us from all the health issues that face us.

Those issues are not only in gynae health but in heart health and many other areas where we do not have the services that we should have.

483 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:35 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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