Jack Abbott

I thank my hon. Friend and could not agree more. For women with endometriosis who may have already waited years for a GP even to mention the word, and who have already been utterly failed by institutionalised and deeply structural medical misogyny, this is a complete dereliction of duty. The human cost of inaction is devastating. Untreated endometriosis can have an untold impact on someone’s life, including on their education, career, relationships, fertility and mental health: 98% of respondents to Endometriosis UK’s most recent survey said the condition affected their mental health and 63% that there was a significant impact. Women’s lives are put on hold and even changed for ever. They are our neighbours, colleagues, friends, families, partners, girlfriends, wives, mothers and daughters. We all know women who are suffering and struggling to access care right now. In Ipswich, those lives are further disrupted by unnecessary travel for specialist services that should be available locally. When we came into government, we pledged never again to neglect women’s health. Honouring that commitment is a moral necessity. We have made significant strides since coming into office, with waiting lists for gynaecology care falling for the first time in years. The updated women’s health strategy has the capacity to make an enormous difference. The Government are investing in research on diagnosis, treatment and pain management, with a new research programme on pain management for endometriosis starting this month. Endometriosis will be prioritised under the new virtual hospital NHS Online, meaning women will be able to access specialist expertise online much more quickly. If that commitment is to mean anything to women in Ipswich and across the country, however, it must also include equitable access to specialist endometriosis services. National strategies, research investment and virtual hospitals are all welcome and necessary, but digital access cannot replace talking to a specialist face to face. Women in Ipswich need that local provision of specialists. We have somehow allowed a culture to develop where women living in pain is seen as acceptable—as something normal to be expected. That should never have been allowed to happen, but we finally have a Government who are taking women’s health seriously and a Minister who has championed this for many years. That should give us all hope, because we owe it to my constituents here today and to all women who have spent years in excruciating, debilitating pain, who have been ignored and belittled, and who have suffered alone. We cannot let the next generation of women with endometriosis be failed in the same way. They all deserve better, but without specialist care in our communities where people live, that would be impossible.