Debate contribution: Endometriosis Care

Debate contribution by Mr Alan Chambers on 29 September 2025.

MLA: Mr Alan Chambers
Party at the time: Ulster Unionist Party
Date: 29 September 2025
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Private Members' Business
Heading: Endometriosis Care
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5139431

Text

I welcome the opportunity that motions such as this give us to discuss and highlight important medical issues faced by citizens across Northern Ireland. Endometriosis is not a rare or fringe condition but one that affects a great number of women: our mothers, daughters, sisters, colleagues and friends. However, for far too long, their pain was often minimised or misunderstood. The condition can mean years of severe pain, repeated hospital visits and the very real fear and anxiety about the hugely sensitive issue of fertility, and yet, as the motion highlights, there are still challenges with finally getting a diagnosis. We know that our health service is under immense pressure, but women's voices in decades gone by were not always listened to. That must change, and, thankfully, it is changing. There is now much better awareness and understanding of the condition compared with even a relatively small number of years ago. Awareness is growing. Health professionals and patients have worked tirelessly to ensure that the condition is no longer dismissed as just bad periods but is recognised as the serious health condition that it is. That change in understanding has given hope to thousands. I commend the women who have spoken out about their experiences. Campaigners and charities, including many here in Northern Ireland, have done so much to raise awareness and push the condition up the public and political agenda. Their work has brought us to the much higher level of understanding that there is today. With improved awareness has come improved outcomes: diagnosis is now an alternative to the endless years of uncertainty that many once endured. Better treatment pathways, supported by research and investment, are allowing patients to manage their condition more effectively. Workplaces and schools are also beginning to adapt and are acknowledging the reality of the condition, offering flexibility and support. Of course, there is still much more to be done, which is why I welcome the efforts that are under way in the Department of Health. The upcoming publication of the women's health action plan will be an important step. I very much welcome the other, wider efforts that are already under way, not least those informed by the getting it right first time (GIRFT) review.
Of course, women's health is about so much more than one condition. It must be part of a much-needed, broader recognition that women's health matters and must be central to health policy in Northern Ireland. From this condition to menopause and fertility services, we need to listen and continue to act where necessary. I am confident that Minister Nesbitt is across the issues.

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

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