Women in Wales and across the UK are highlighting systemic failures in healthcare that lead to the normalization of chronic pain. Patients and officials report that conditions like endometriosis and complications from vaginal mesh are frequently dismissed by medical professionals, often requiring external advocacy or years of struggle to receive treatment.
Mairead Morgan’s decades-long search for an endometriosis diagnosis
The Impact of Dismissed Symptoms on Long-Term Health
For many women, the path to diagnosis and appropriate care is marked by years of being ignored. Mairead Morgan, an architectural technologist originally from Omagh, County Tyrone, but now living in Manningtree, Essex, began experiencing symptoms of endometriosis at age 11 but did not receive a diagnosis until she was 38. According to reporting by the BBC, her journey involved moving around the UK for work, which often left her feeling like she was back to square one with new medical teams each time. After a ruptured cyst, she underwent a laparoscopy to remove some endometriosis, which provided temporary relief, but she still experiences severe pain during flare-ups.
The consequences of these delays can be life-altering. For Donna Davies, a 56-year-old from Swansea, a vaginal mesh procedure intended to treat stress urinary incontinence performed nearly 20 years ago resulted in years of physical suffering. She is one of an estimated 100,000 women in the UK who underwent the procedure to treat incontinence or prolapse, a practice that has since been paused by the NHS. Davies described her daily pain by stating: The mesh was leaving me in daily pain – the only way I can explain it was that I was being cut by glass every time I moved.
After the device was removed, she underwent a total hysterectomy and the creation of a “sling” made from her own muscles. However, she reports that she has never recovered from this operation and is now facing the removal of her large bowel and the necessity of a permanent stoma due to ongoing neuropathic pain.
For more on this story, see How Chronic Illness Is Forcing Women Out of the Workplace.
Donna Davies’ struggle for clinical validation after vaginal mesh surgery
The Role of Advocacy in Clinical Validation
A recurring theme in these patient accounts is the necessity of third-party validation to be taken seriously by surgeons and doctors. Davies noted that her own reports of pain were repeatedly minimized until her husband intervened during a medical incident.
I didn't feel as if I was believed and I didn't feel my pain was acknowledged until my husband spoke up about an incident we had and then I felt that the surgeon believed my husband, Davies said
This dynamic extends to other chronic conditions. Morgan noted that while she has developed personal management strategies like yoga and cold water swimming, she continues to experience days where she is bedbound. Regarding the impact on her life, she explained: It has definitely affected my career but as a very ambitious and driven Irish woman, I've powered through. You can be fine one minute and in debilitating pain, almost needing hospital intervention, within a few days.
This follows our earlier report, Why Black Women Are Traveling to South Korea for Better Healthcare.
Delyth Jewell’s mandate to reform Welsh women’s health services
Policy Shifts and Service Disparities in Wales
The disparity in specialized care remains a primary concern for patients in Wales. Davies pointed out that while England houses nine specialist centres for women experiencing complications from vaginal mesh, Wales lacks similar dedicated services, leading her to state, We do feel forgotten.
Delyth Jewell, the women’s health minister in the Senedd, addressed these systemic issues at a recent women’s health summit in Wales. She emphasized the need to move away from a culture where phrases like this might hurt
are accepted as a normal part of a patient’s experience. Jewell is calling for stricter requirements for health boards to involve women in the design of services meant for them, noting that health services are too often considered a “should” not a “must.”
Read also: Rumer Willis: Why Women Should Stop Guessing About Hormones.
I am determined to strengthen women's voices so that women will be believed about their bodies,
Jewell said. We need to make sure that in theatre space they are prioritised more, we need to be making sure that training is improved.
NHS health boards face calls to prioritize patient-reported pain
The push for reform focuses on ensuring that women’s health services are treated as a necessity. For patients like Morgan and Davies, the goal is a healthcare system that prioritizes patient-reported pain as a legitimate diagnostic indicator. If you are experiencing persistent pain or symptoms, consult your healthcare provider to discuss your concerns and treatment options.
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