Debate contribution: Women’s Health Strategy

Debate contribution by Mr Danny Donnelly on 16 March 2026.

MLA

Mr Danny Donnelly

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

16 March 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Women’s Health Strategy

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5449099

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank Claire Sugden for moving this important motion. Women's health in Northern Ireland is not a series of disconnected problems; it is a systemic equality issue that has been exacerbated by a lack of rights-based, joined-up approaches to women's lives. Women's healthcare is too often treated as a service or budgetary pressure issue when, in reality, it is a policy gap. Where there is no clear strategy and no measurable outcomes, women are left to navigate fragmentation instead of receiving joined-up care, and when they are continually ignored or disregarded, the consequences impact every part of our society. The Women's Resource and Development Agency reported that it is difficult to get a full picture of women's health in Northern Ireland because the data is too often siloed, gathered through the lens of one issue or another disease, or not examined through the lens of gender inequality. Without data, there can be no proper scrutiny or full understanding of how to adequately address the issues raised. In February 2024, Alliance moved a motion calling for a women's health strategy. It was my colleague Sian Mulholland's first speech, and it was one of the first motions passed by the Assembly after its restoration earlier that month. The Minister at the time assured Members that he had a strong foundation of work in progress that would form key components of a women's health action plan. He made a commitment that, while it was in the early stages, he was putting women at the centre of discussions to ensure that their voices were heard and that limited funds were appropriately aligned with priorities. He was confident that his approach, along with the support of Assembly colleagues, would improve health outcomes for all women and girls in Northern Ireland. Suffice to say that, two years and no plan later, that approach has not worked. The continued delays are having an impact on the women of Northern Ireland, and I will highlight a few of the many real stories of women who are impacted by the lack of a meaningful women's health action plan. Frances Kane was featured as part of the British Heart Foundation's 'Bias and Biology' report on the gender heart attack gap that we have heard mentioned today. She had a suspicion that she had cardiac problems, but she was repeatedly told by doctors that, at 27, she was too young, and, as a woman, it was unlikely that she would have a heart attack, despite raising concerns repeatedly around her symptoms and family history. Frances was persistent and was only referred to a cardiologist when she presented to emergency care. The coronary angiogram showed a blockage in Frances's artery. She said:

"I was told that my artery was 70 per cent blocked and that I was on my way to a massive heart attack. That was very hard to hear when I was so young. I felt shocked. I then felt very sorry for myself. I went home and cried on the sofa and asked myself: why did this happen to me? The doctors always referred to my age and gender as a young woman to dismiss my concerns that my problem was heart related. My persistence when I knew myself that something wasn’t right, probably saved my life."

Lynsey Courtney and Erin Harbinson both died from cervical cancer following smear tests that were misread by staff in the Southern Trust. Over the course of a decade, Erin Harbinson had three cervical cancer screenings giving her the all-clear, but all were incorrect. Members will be aware that that resulted in a major review of more than 17,000 results of smear tests that were undertaken by the Southern Health and Social Care Trust.

Laura Maguire is a 25-year-old woman who has been put in a medicated early menopause as she awaits surgery for endometriosis. Marie Mullan said that she waited 20 years for a diagnosis of endometriosis. She was told, mainly by male doctors, that it was just period pain and that she would have to live with it. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) said that, if those who were waiting across Northern Ireland's five health trusts were to stand shoulder to shoulder, the queue would be over two miles longer than it was in November 2024, stretching almost 15 miles. Those are some of the tragic and unacceptable examples of how women's healthcare has woefully failed. The lack of menopause provision in primary care, as mentioned by the motion's sponsor, is another shocking example of that. Women in Northern Ireland also have fewer legal protections than their counterparts in GB. They are continually harmed by the impact of Brexit, and they were left out of adequate roles in public and political life during peace building, so this is about more than just waiting lists or service pressures. It is an entrenched issue, which must be addressed urgently by adopting a joined-up, collaborative approach across Health and other Departments. This is not about blame; rather, it is about accountability and action. The motion does not ask for the impossible. It asks for transparency on the status, funding and implementation of the already promised action plan. It asks for:

"a fully costed and time-bound women's health strategy"

within 12 months and for women's health to be "explicitly embedded" in primary care across the life course. It asks the Department to assess whether current provision is truly meeting its statutory duties. I urge the Minister to not only agree with those warm words but act on them.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:13 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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