Women’s Health Series: 1. Gynaecology Care Crisis

As a lawyer specialising in women’s health claims, I am increasingly concerned about the challenges facing those seeking access to care for issues around gynaecology and reproductive health. Problems in this area are rife. They include very long waiting times, delays in diagnosis, a lack of understanding by some medical professionals, instances of discrimination as well as women reporting feelings of being dismissed.

Although not all such issues lead to claims for negligence, gynaecology claims against the NHS have run to many millions in recent years. Hospital Trusts across South London alone reportedly paid close to £4m in damages in this area during the past five years.

The crisis in women’s healthcare is dramatically highlighted in two recent reports - one from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG)  – ‘Waiting for a way forward’ - and the other from the Government’s Women and Equalities Committee – ‘Women's reproductive health conditions'.

Gynaecology and urogynaecology issues can be wide ranging and include uterine prolapse and incontinence. Conditions which affect reproductive health can include endometriosis, adenomyosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome and pelvic inflammatory disease.

The RCOG report focuses on the chronic problem of waiting times, setting out that the number of women on gynaecology waiting lists today would fill Wembley Stadium nearly eight and a half times.

The report reflects on the impact of not having timely treatment. Many women suffer with chronic and debilitating pain, exhaustion, breathlessness, extensive blood loss and are unable able to carry out their lives normally.

The root cause of the crisis is blamed on a combination of NHS-wide issues and challenges that are specific to gynaecology. According to the report: ‘Gynaecology has historically been perceived as less important in wider elective recovery, and this has resulted in an increasing number of complex cases, disease progression, emergency admissions and women living in pain and distress: all of which are preventable.’

Lack of understanding and training

The RCOG report also notes that professionals have been left with little time to either provide or receive training. This is extremely concerning – it seems self-evident that matters can hardly improve without medical professionals having adequate and up to date knowledge.  

The report from the Women and Equalities Committee highlights related concerns regarding primary healthcare practitioners (which include GPs). It states that among this group there is a clear lack of awareness and understanding of women’s reproductive health conditions. The report goes on to say that healthcare practitioners lack sufficient understanding of the treatment options and that the NHS needs to take the necessary steps to ensure that they keep up to date.

Discrimination

Women living in deprived areas were found by the RCOG report to typically experience the longest wait for care. It also noted that this finding was in line with research by the Kings Fund showing that people in the most need of care ‘are often the ones who struggle the most to access services’. This unfortunately is something that I have found when acting for people injured by medical negligence.

Another area of discrimination is detailed within the Women and Equalities Committee report which states that women are finding their pain dismissed 'with an ingrained belief among some health professionals that women, particularly those from a minority ethnic background, are exaggerating their symptoms. Such medical misogyny and racism is unacceptable.’ It is truly shocking that these issues persist and can have a serious and detrimental impact upon obtaining proper healthcare.

Delays in diagnosis

Both reports underline concerns around delayed diagnosis and the Women and Equalities Committee calls for improvements in diagnosis time to be made a priority.

In my experience, delayed diagnosis is a key area for potential medical negligence claims. Where a condition has deteriorated as a result of negligent delay, the outcome can be devastating. Claims can include compensation for ongoing pain, care and treatment costs and also lost earnings. Where there has been an impact upon fertility, the costs of associated treatments may be able to be included. A specialist lawyer can advise fully.

Informed consent

Poor communication is further highlighted in the RCOG report along with concerns around consent. Some women reported feeling that ‘specific options or choices were pushed on them rather than being discussed.’ If consent was not properly obtained and the treatment caused an injury to the patient, a claim for medical negligence may be possible. More information is available on our claims for a lack of informed consent webpage.

The RCOG urges the Government to act now to provide long-term funding for gynaecology. The Women and Equalities Committee also calls for increased investment in the early diagnosis of reproductive health conditions. Such investment is undoubtedly necessary. We simply must do better for women who are struggling with debilitating conditions. As the RCOG President says… healthy women are the cornerstone of healthy societies.     

Legal Claims
 

The Kingsley Napley team specialise in gynaecology cases with a wealth of experience in this area. More information is available on the following webpages: Gynaecology Claims, Endometriosis Claims, Fertility / IVF Claims. If you are concerned about the treatment received by yourself or a loved one, please do not hesitate to contact our supportive and friendly team for a no obligation discussion.

Further information

If you have any questions regarding this blog, please contact Rebecca Linnell in our Medical Negligence and Personal Injury team. 

About the author

Rebecca is an Associate in the Medical Negligence Department who acts for a range of clients dealing with both Medical Negligence and Personal Injury claims.