Why it matters: Ipswich MP Jack Abbott secured a Westminster Hall debate on Tuesday, 24 March 2025, calling for a specialist endometriosis clinic to be established at Ipswich Hospital. Women in Ipswich are currently required to travel to Colchester Hospital for specialist treatment, as no dedicated clinic exists locally. The debate also called for improved diagnosis times and greater national awareness of the condition.
The bigger picture: Endometriosis affects one in ten women, with more than 1.5 million people across the UK living with the condition. It can cause chronic pain, infertility and severe impacts on mental health — yet diagnosis takes an average of more than nine years. Ipswich.co.uk has been reporting on the experiences of local women affected by endometriosis for more than 18 months, and many of those women were among those invited to join Abbott in Westminster.
The details: Monica Thomas, founder of Women's Health Hope — an Ipswich-based charity supporting women with diagnosed and undiagnosed menstrual health conditions — experienced symptoms for 17 years before receiving her diagnosis. She now lives with both pelvic and thoracic endometriosis, suffers daily pain and breathlessness, and is frequently bed bound. After years of being refused specialist referrals, she ultimately had to seek private medical advice.
Faye Ramsey, a 31-year-old teaching assistant from Ipswich and endometriosis campaigner, has spent years fighting to be heard by the healthcare system. After sending the stories of 90 women to Abbott and helping secure the debate, she attended Parliament alongside Thomas and others.
Abbott highlighted both women's experiences during the debate, held during Endometriosis Awareness Month.
What they're saying: Abbott said: "Endometriosis is one of the most common yet debilitating conditions affecting women, but care remains far too difficult to access.
"Women in Ipswich who are already living with severe pain and who often wait years for diagnosis and treatment are forced to travel out of their area to see a specialist. That is simply unacceptable.
"The lack of specialist services locally sends a message that women's health is not treated as a priority. It deepens inequalities and places unnecessary burdens on patients who are already struggling.
"If we are serious about supporting women, we must ensure specialist endometriosis care is available in the communities where people live."
Thomas said: "This debate is incredibly important to me, personally and as the founder of Women's Health Hope. It is a vital opportunity for women living with endometriosis to be heard, and for their experiences to be recognised nationally.
"Too many women and girls face years of pain, delayed diagnosis, and barriers to specialist care. My own experience reflects what we hear every day: women not being listened to, struggling for referrals, and often reaching crisis point before receiving support.
"This is not just a health issue, but a systemic failure in how women's pain is understood and treated. We need urgent action to improve diagnosis times, increase access to specialist services and ensure women are central to the design of care.
"No one should have to fight this hard to be believed or to access necessary treatment."
Ramsey said: "Having Jack Abbott MP listening to my points I raised when I met with him, agreeing to help with my campaign on making change for women's health, really helped myself and other women feel validated.
"I told Mr Abbott that I would not stop until this reaches parliament and until change is made, and I feel very excited on this next step of my campaign. I am hopeful that the voices of the 90 women's stories I have and other women across the country will be reassured change is coming."
For context: Suffolk has no endometriosis specialists, with complex cases referred to Colchester Hospital — one of the only providers in the region to offer the service. East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust says current waiting times average 44 weeks for general gynaecology appointments and 49 weeks for specialist endometriosis referrals.
The bottom line: After years of dismissal and delay, Ipswich women living with endometriosis took their fight to Parliament — and their MP is now demanding the town gets the specialist care it has long been denied.
