Endometriosis Services

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 24th March 2026 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is obviously a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I thank the hon. Member for Ipswich (Jack Abbott) for leading today’s debate on this crucial issue. Support for women’s gynaecology services is so important. I know from speaking to many ladies, and indeed nurses, back home in Northern Ireland that endometriosis services in particular are suffering drastically. The conversation about that must be had now. It is a conversation that has been had a few times in Westminster Hall, as well as on the Floor of the House through questions.

It is a pleasure to see the Minister in her place. She is earning her money today, as this is the second debate she has responded to. It is a genuine pleasure. I know the Minister has pursued this topic over a number of years as an MP, but now she has the opportunity to respond to the requests from the hon. Member for Ipswich and from me, and I look forward to her response.

Endometriosis is a chronic and often debilitating condition affecting around one in 10 women of reproductive age, yet it remains widely underdiagnosed and clinically misunderstood. In Northern Ireland, many women face long waiting times for diagnosis and treatment, limited access to specialist services, and significant pressures within gynaecology pathways. As a result of all that, patients often endure years of pain and uncertainty, as well as disruption to their daily lives, work, education and family life in general.

I have spoken with numerous young people about this over the years, and have personal experience of it from the women in my life. When my wife and I got married, the doctor told Sandra that, “If you have a baby quickly, everything will clear up.” Well, no it did not—and three babies later, it still had not cleared up. I am not better than anybody else, but I have some knowledge of what it is like for a woman to deal with that every day.

[Sorcha Eastwood (Lagan Valley) (Alliance)]

I really value the hon. Member’s contribution, which has been heartfelt and personal. Does he agree that Endo Warriors Northern Ireland deserves credit and acknowledgment for the work that it has done for the women across Northern Ireland who are impacted by this postcode lottery?

[Jim Shannon]

The hon. Lady speaks well, on behalf of not only her own constituents but all constituents and ladies across Northern Ireland.

My mother also had various problems with endometriosis over the years, and one of my staff members—a young girl who got married just over a year ago—has had what were probably the worst problems with endometriosis that I had ever seen. Obviously, as her employer, I tried to be as sympathetic as I could so that she could have a few days off work, as she had to go to hospital and for appointments—it was endless. We always encouraged her to get married, and she met the right fella and did so. We hope that the situation will change for her.

The personal experiences of women show the huge, wide-scale issues around birth control. At as young an age as 14 or 15, girls are often prescribed birth control to deal with painful periods, as the hon. Member for Lagan Valley (Sorcha Eastwood) will be aware, given her intervention. The issues often slip under the radar without further investigation, meaning that the same women find themselves worse than ever in their mid-20’s, with undiagnosed endometriosis alongside possible fertility issues, of which the hon. Member for Ipswich gave some examples. Given that conditions such as endometriosis are so widely known to be underdiagnosed at the earlier stages, it is beyond me why more has not been done to ensure that the problems are investigated as early as possible. That shortfall for us in Northern Ireland, and what I suspect is the shortfall everywhere across this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, needs to be addressed.

We also see issues around the waiting lists, in the indeterminable wait to try to find out what is wrong, and to get surgical treatment for it. The waiting time in Northern Ireland is 18 months. That forces women to use their savings or money that they do not have to go private, as living with the condition is described as unbearable—I know just how unbearable it was for the young lady on my staff, my wife and my mother.

[Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)]

I understand exactly what the hon. Member is saying about the waits; the average waiting time for a diagnosis has now gone up to nine years and four months. Where I am from in Cornwall, an endo café has been set up. I went to it once, and it was heartbreaking to be told so many stories about waits for surgeries and diagnoses. One issue that they raised was that we have only one specialist endometriosis nurse in Cornwall. Does the hon. Member think that having more specialist nurses would help?

[Jim Shannon]

My friend and colleague, the hon. Member for North Down (Alex Easton), referred to that earlier in the debate. The hon. Lady underlines that point strongly, for which I thank her.

The situation in Northern Ireland is dire—in Northern Ireland, we use that word to describe many such services that are just not up to scratch. Specialist pathways and centres are more developed in other parts of the United Kingdom; although I was very sorry to hear from the hon. Lady that it is now a nine-year waiting time—is that correct?

[Jayne Kirkham]

indicated assent.

[Jim Shannon]

My goodness—that is quite unbelievable. We tend to find that the situation on the mainland is better than back home in Northern Ireland. I fear that Northern Ireland has fallen far behind, and that little consideration is being given to the impact that that is having. The capital funding from the Department of Health in Northern Ireland does not go far enough to accommodate everything that we need. How many more women must suffer for how many more years before the scale of the issue is realised?

It is my duty, not only as my party’s spokesperson for health but because of my personal experiences over the years, to represent such issues as endometriosis services. It is no secret that more must be done: more engagement, more research and more resourcing. I look to the Minister and ask about the research being done—I will make a request similar to the one I made to her in the debate we had on sudden unexplained death in childhood this morning. Some advances are taking place, but it is questionable whether they will be expedited quickly enough to catch up everyone. I also strongly but politely ask the Minister to discuss the issue with Mike Nesbitt—the Northern Ireland Executive Minister who holds the health portfolio—in the hope that this time next year, in Endometriosis Action Month, we can come together again and that the situation will be better for all those thousands of women across the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland who deserve better treatment.