Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 15 June 2021
Never has there been a more pressing time than the present to debate women’s health issues. After the past 15 months, we have seen waiting times soar, an increase in the backlog of cancelled operations and cancer diagnostic tests shelved. Even young pupils have been affected by not receiving either the first or the second human papillomavirus—HPV—vaccine within the crucial 18-month stage when those young people become sexually active.
In the coming months, it is crucial that we have those services fully up and running. Women’s health has for far too long taken a back seat, and I am keen to see change, as are so many people in the chamber.
A starting point for me came in 2019, when Monica Lennon and I hosted an event with the British Heart Foundation to discuss women’s health inequalities, particularly in diagnosing heart disease. At a similar point, Caroline Criado Perez’s book “Invisible Women” was published, addressing a clear gap in women’s health treatment, as the minister said.
More recently, I was troubled by the experience of a friend from the Borders who has been waiting years for an endometriosis diagnosis. Without a doubt, urgent action must be taken to address the appalling length of waiting times for endometriosis diagnosis. Endometriosis is very common. It affects 10 per cent of women from puberty to menopause, although, as Evelyn Tweed described, the impact might affect them for life. It has been said that the average time to get a diagnosis is eight years, but it is not; in Scotland, it is eight and a half years.
We know that access to services for those women is very difficult. The inquiry by the UK all-party parliamentary group on endometriosis attracted 10,000 responses and noted that it has been difficult to access treatment in Scotland. There are specialist units in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, but it seems that, for people who live outwith those specific health board areas, it is—I loathe to use this description—a postcode lottery. Women are experiencing physical and emotional suffering, and the Government needs to act.
The report, which is well worth a read, commits to a reduction in the average diagnosis time to four years or less by 2025, and to a year or less by 2030. I challenge the Government to meet its manifesto commitment, because it has not yet met its legally binding treatment time guarantee of 12 weeks.
In Scotland, our cross-party support ended period poverty, provided free sanitary products in schools and brought plaudits from across the globe. A reduction in waiting times, access to specialist endometriosis services and the provision of menstrual health education in schools should be key priorities, and I ask that the minister addresses that in her closing speech.
Cancer diagnosis and treatment, especially for cervical and breast cancer, have fallen by the wayside during the pandemic, with women being particularly let down. When cancer screening and detection tests were on hold from April to June last year, 4,000 fewer people received cancer diagnoses. Breast cancer represents almost a quarter of those missing cases—over 70 per cent more than would be expected—which has prompted fears that progress in fighting the disease is in jeopardy. We need proper funding. I also ask the minister whether the cervical screening awareness campaign has been restarted.
The Scottish Conservatives, through our amendment, are calling for the NHS backlog to be tackled by a separate clinician-led fund, so that we can finally bring treatment times under control. We cannot continue on the current trajectory. Women’s health is at stake.