Portsmouth City Council speech in support of Women

On the afternoon of Tuesday, March 19th 2023, I gave a speech (technically called a public deputation) to Portsmouth City Council in support of a Portsmouth Labour Party motion calling out women's inequality. My focus was on the issues surrounding poor female healthcare and promoting a Women's Health Hub in our city. The motion passed.

These are my scripted words, which changed slightly on delivery:

Good afternoon, Lord Mayor and Councillors,

I am Steph Richards, from Endometriosis South Coast…here on, abbreviated to ESC.

ESC is a local charity supporting nearly one thousand Portsmouth women, gender non-conforming people…. together with some trans men through their journey of suffering the debilitating disease of endometriosis.

I am here speaking in support of this motion, and I will keep my comments centred on the issues around Women’s healthcare, albeit that, as an organisation, ESC champions Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, recognising that Equality isn’t just about treating everyone the same. It’s about ensuring everyone has a fair shot at reaching their full potential.

Diversity isn’t just a box to tick. It’s a vibrant tapestry of experiences and ideas that strengthens our society.

And inclusion isn’t just about sitting at the table. It’s about feeling empowered to share our unique voices and to contribute.

Despite one in ten women suffering endometriosis, amounting to 1.6 million people in the UK, it is a fact that 54% of the population has never heard of endometriosis.

The cost to the UK economy, caused principally by lost productivity, is an eye-watering 8.2 billion pounds annually.

Part of this motion asks the Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care to commit to exploring initiatives that address women’s healthcare inequalities — it also includes…. promoting and establishing a Women’s Health Hub in our city.

Women’s Health Hubs are a government policy, as laid out in the Women’s Health Strategy published in 2022.

They can take various forms across a given area — from having a designated building or department in an acute hospital to having a ‘digital hub’ or, alternatively, having Women’s health hubs within General Practice maximising the passionate workforce — which is what we are trying to achieve in Portsmouth.

The advantage of the primary care option is that women’s health issues are recognised by specialists at the initial stage, leading to speedier diagnosis and treatment by consultants at hospitals. This results in less pain for the sufferer and a faster return to work.

Currently, in Portsmouth, we estimate there are 13,000 women with endo — the vast majority un-diagnosed.

We regularly hear stories that GPs gaslight women and fail to respond effectively to their needs, and the fact is that the average time for women suffering endo from first appointment to diagnosis is an incredible nine years. Current waits to see gynaecologists currently exceed one year and our local lead endo consultant doesn’t even have a clinic room.

It is estimated that around 70% of all women’s health issues are HORMONE related, so we are not just talking endo; we can include conditions such as Fibroids, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Menopause and sadly, Pregnancy Loss…… all deserving of prompt specialist care.

So, at ESC we prefer the name Hormone Health Hub which encompass other health conditions including gender affirming healthcare. Trans peoples wait for first appointment at a Gender Identity Clinic exceeds, twenty years.

Another area of importance is preconception health, and this particularly applies to our city, where we have one of the very worst obesity problems in the country.

I would refer the council to the 2014–2024 Healthy Weight Strategy for Portsmouth, which has failed.

Within the city, we also have an issue that far too many pregnant women continue to smoke, and we need to take action to protect them …and the unborn child.

A preconception policy also helps to reduce the risk of birth defects, improves maternal health, increases the chances of a baby’s having a healthy weight… and improves foetal development.

Within Portsmouth, we need to promote conversations about women and girls’ health issues, tackling stigma, supporting both prevention and early interventions.

For DECADES we failed to talk openly about menopause which affects many women badly, resulting in one in ten women having to leave employment.

To conclude:

We need to enable easy access to accurate, helpful, healthcare information and services so to facilitate better outcomes for women, girls and gender diverse people in our city with, professionals working with them and their circles of care.

We need to optimise our resources across the system to strengthen pathways, reduce delays to care, and improve outcomes.

At ESC, we have been informed that our local Integrated Care Board has access to funds and is considering setting up women’s health hubs, in their management area.

As a city, we need to urgently explore this opportunity, and at Endometriosis South Coast, we encourage all stakeholders to do so.

Please support this motion.

Thank you.