Women’s healthcare has been left in the dust by capitalism. Across Ireland, women are forced to travel abroad to receive diagnosis for the second most common gynaecological condition, endometriosis.
Despite affecting an estimated 150,000 women and girls in Ireland, endometriosis remains neglected. Systemic underfunding, lack of training and institutionalised indifference means women, on average, wait 7 years in the South and an outrageous 9 years and 5 months in the North of Ireland just for a diagnosis – a criminal failure of the system.
One of our sympathisers living with endometriosis described its impact: “Endo put a complete halt on my life. I was left wondering what was wrong with me for so long… Even when I was in extreme pain, the healthcare system ignored me until they found that the cyst on my ovaries had burst”.
Unfortunately, her story is all too common. Many women are left behind, suffering incredible pain, fertility problems, and often unable to work. Endometriosis is too often minimised or misdiagnosed – the product of institutionalised sexism. One teenager in Kerry was told there was no sign of endometriosis, only to be diagnosed with stage 3 in Romania two months later. The figures are damning, 58 percent of women in the North reported having to visit their GP more than ten times before a diagnosis.
The South fares little better. Despite this however, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael recently voted against a motion in the Dáil calling for improved care and services. As their salaries are once again set to increase, it won’t be the fat cats in the Dáil who struggle to pay for their treatments.
Underfunding in healthcare is a systemic crisis. Everyone in Ireland either knows someone, or has themselves been betrayed by this broken system. Still our politicians respond with empty platitudes about how it is regrettable but we just don’t have the funds. Yet, there is always money for warfare and corporate tax cuts.
No, no more lies and platitudes! We need healthcare, not warfare!
