Call for Suffolk Women's Health Hub as government launches new strategy

Why it matters: Suffolk currently has no Women's Health Hub and no endometriosis specialist centre. Complex cases are referred to Colchester Hospital — one of the only providers in the region offering the service — with waiting times averaging 44 weeks for general gynaecology appointments and 49 weeks for specialist endometriosis referrals, according to East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust.

The details: Monica Thomas, founder of Women's Health Hope — a Suffolk-based charity supporting women with diagnosed and undiagnosed menstrual health conditions — is calling for a Women's Health Hub to be installed in the county as part of the national rollout.

Thomas, who waited 17 years for her own endometriosis diagnosis and now lives with both pelvic and thoracic endometriosis, said the announcement must be accompanied by real change locally.

"I want to highlight a critical local issue that risks being overlooked," she said. "Despite the national rollout of Women's Health Hubs, Suffolk currently has no Women's Health Hub and no endometriosis centre. There is a real risk that areas like Suffolk are left behind despite national commitments to improve women's health services.

"While I welcome the announcement, it must be accompanied by an end to medical gaslighting and real culture change across the healthcare system."

The bigger picture: The renewed Women's Health Strategy, published by the Department of Health and Social Care on Wednesday, 15 April, sets out a series of reforms aimed at improving care for women across England. These include streamlining gynaecology waiting lists, producing a new standard of care for pain relief during invasive procedures, and launching a trial in which women's feedback could be directly linked to provider funding.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said the strategy would "tackle the issues women face everyday."

"Whether it's being passed from one appointment to another for conditions like endometriosis and fibroids, or a lack of proper pain relief during invasive procedures, through to having to navigate symptoms for years before receiving a diagnosis, it's clear the system is failing women," he said.

"We need to hit medical misogyny where it hurts — the wallet."

For context: Suffolk has some of the lowest recorded rates of endometriosis diagnosis in the region. Office for National Statistics data shows 2,875 women in Suffolk — 845 per 100,000 — received an endometriosis diagnosis between March 2011 and December 2021, below the East of England average of 989 per 100,000. The average age of diagnosis in the county is 35. Experts widely accept that the true scale of undiagnosed cases is significantly higher.

Nationally, diagnosis times for endometriosis are rising rather than falling. Emma Cox, chief executive of Endometriosis UK, said it is now taking an average of nine years and four months to receive a diagnosis — rising to 11 years for women from diverse ethnic communities.

"Diagnosis times for endometriosis are going up not down — which is totally unacceptable," Cox said. "Leadership and decisive actions will be vital to drive these times down."

What they're saying: The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists welcomed the strategy, noting that more than 565,000 women are still waiting for gynaecological care in England.

Dr Alison Wright, president of the college, said: "For the Strategy to achieve its full potential, it is vital that it is backed by sustained investment, clear delivery plans, and transparent progress reporting."

Ipswich MP Jack Abbott said the strategy “looks to ensure that women have more choice, voice and power in the NHS."

He said: “I’ll be blunt about this – everyday everyday sexism and medical misogyny in our health system repeatedly sees women dismissed and I have heard story after story of women who have suffered from totally avoidable harm. It’s important that chronic illnesses like endometriosis are receiving long overdue focus."

He added: “I’ll continue campaigning alongside women for change at a national and local level. Women must finally be heard and they need faster access to better treatment and care.”

Local campaigners: The call for local services comes just weeks after Ipswich MP Jack Abbott secured a Westminster Hall debate calling for a specialist endometriosis clinic at Ipswich Hospital. Thomas and fellow Ipswich campaigner Faye Ramsey — a teaching assistant who spent years fighting to be heard by the healthcare system — attended Parliament alongside Abbott in March to make the case for local specialist services.

Ramsey, who gathered the stories of 90 women with endometriosis and sent them to Abbott to help secure the debate, said at the time: "I told Mr Abbott that I would not stop until this reaches parliament and until change is made."

Abbott said during the debate: "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."

What's next: The government says gynaecology waiting lists have already fallen by more than 30,000 since June 2024. Other commitments in the renewed strategy include a £1 million programme to improve menstrual health education in schools, a £1.5 million Femtech challenge fund, and the establishment of a women's voices partnership to inform future policy.

Whether any of those commitments will translate into dedicated infrastructure for Suffolk — including a Women's Health Hub — remains to be seen.

The bottom line: As the government pledges to put women's voices at the heart of healthcare, Suffolk campaigners say the county cannot afford to be left behind — and are calling for a Women's Health Hub to match the national ambition with local action.

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