Latest News
Find out what we're really about, on film
Click onto our brand new movie, detailing what Endometriosis Awareness North is all about Endometriosis Awareness North - YouTube
Featuring our treasured case study Courtney, it also gives medics a platform to call for quicker diagnosis of endometriosis.
With thanks to filmmakers Andrea Bertozzi and Pete Gibson Media.
Time to cure the violence says Doctor
Aggression and its impact on women’s health, is the subject of a brilliant blog by our founder, published on the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership’s website https://merseysidevrp.com/media-centre/blogs/womens-health/
Dr Anita Sharma notes: “I see the results of violence every day. For me, physical and psychological wellbeing is intrinsically linked.”
The Partnership uses a public health approach to educate young people away from misogynistic and racist attitudes and offers activities to keep youngsters away from toxic environments.
Greet Gaity
Meet the latest edition to our team, and what skills, knowledge, expertise and experience she brings!
Learn more about her at https://endometriosisawarenessnorth.com/about-us
On the Pulse
You may have noticed that our founder Dr Anita Sharma has been penning plenty of pieces for Pulse Today magazine.
Well, she also recently presented to a well-attended group of their subscribers, which included top medics.
An Endometriosis Awareness North survey found ignorance even among health workers about the condition – and so we are so glad they are embracing our campaign so enthusiastically.
If you would like us to share our message, online or in person, contact petergibson100@btinternet.com
Women's health left on the shelf
An Oldham woman who waited seven years for a diagnosis, for her endometriosis, claims there's a gaping void in male and female health, which needs to be closed. 23-year-old Courtney Ormrod says that while her partner was happily restored just two days after being hospitalised in agony she waited SEVEN years for a diagnosis of endometriosis, Courtney says; "While male pain wanes, women's remains." Courtney, who helped found charity Endometriosis Awareness North, believes her experience is a typical example of the way the health of females is treated as second-class by politicians, health chiefs and even male doctors. No wonder male life expectancy has risen, whilst women’s has plateaued, she argues. “From one of the first times I went into hospital in severe pain and was told by an older male medic that, “it is definitely not endometriosis – you’re too young,” I have become aware of a prejudice around female health” said Courtney. “This was illustrated in the case of my partner. "He was scanned, monitored, and treated straightaway even though COVID was raging. "I’ve been told that the back pain associated with my condition is just a slipped disc and had people saying I am making it all up – when I have been unable to walk and collapsed because of endometriosis.” Courtney believes that embarrassment around conditions such as menopause, vaginal bleeding and even ovarian cancer is playing a part, as is failing to acknowledge these dangerous illnesses as potentially fatal.
Doctor opens-up on why she formed our charity
Our founder believes we are floundering when it comes to diagnosing endo – and offering women adequate information about the condition. That is why Dr Anita Sharma has taken to GP Online, the leading publication for primary care medics, to explain why she formed Endometriosis Awareness UK. Read the piece by visiting https://bit.ly/3OJVp2r
Endometriosis - a family matter
“This is not a women’s problem, it’s an everyone problem. Those who suffer from it are our daughters, wives, mother, sisters.”
So says Paul Ormod, dad of our charity ambassador Courtney, who along with wife Linda have endured a torrid time watching their daughter fight endometriosis but are now joining the battle to make sure, “no one else goes through the same thing.”
Former fireman Paul and Linda, who at one stage gave up her role as a jeweller to care for Courtney, first noticed something was wrong with their daughter when she began to experience excruciating abdominal and back pain. “If I am being 100% honest, I didn’t really know what endometriosis was” confessed Linda, “I would just tell Courtney, “sweetheart, it’s your periods.””
Set against a blanket of ignorance from medics and even friends, the long road to diagnosis began. “When we went to the doctors, people would say, “oh no, not you again”” remembers Paul, “even when she had a diagnosis of endometriosis, we went to the hospital and were told Courtney had a slipped disc. We wanted answers. This is our daughter. But everywhere we went we were fobbed off.”
The course of Courtney’s life changed when she met Dr Anita Sharma, a local GP in Oldham, and a specialist in women’s health. Courtney’s dreams of being a teacher may have evaporated during her college days because of her many absences, but she recently received excellent care at St Mary’s Hospital in Withington and is now training to work in administration within the NHS. She has also received tremendous backing from her partner Patrick who works day and night to support her, plus her protective older brother, Steven.
Courtney also became Endometriosis Awareness North’s ambassador and has spoken at big events, her personal experience informing and touching medics.
Her father Paul concluded: “From being a little girl, Courtney has been empathetic. That is what this is all about for her, helping others. We are so very proud of her.”
South Asian health - let women make decisions for themselves
From mental health to the menopause and midwifery, the quality of women’s health has been allowed to declin
e dramatically – with taboos and stigma still prevailing.
That is the message that Oldham GP and women’s health specialist Dr Anita Sharma will deliver to a major medical gathering of everyone from gynaecologists to Oxbridge academics, later this week (26 January).
Plus, the South Chadderton practitioner will use figures showing that women’s life expectancy has plateaued and anecdotal evidence of poor practice during COVID, to support the publication of England’s first-ever Women’s Health Strategy out later this year.
Said Dr Sharma:” The health inequalities for women have always been greater and COVID-19 has simply increased the divide. With less time to spend face-to-face with patients, doctors have missed spotting the signs of something like endometriosis. When you meet a patient who has been living in chronic pain since October because she hasn’t seen a doctor, you realise that something is badly wrong.”
Dr Sharma also believes that we need to “address the factors that have led to these gender inequalities in the NHS. The time has come to build up a health care system which is inclusive and understands women's health and ensures women's specific health issues are a priority.”
Dr Sharma who along with Oldham sufferer and charity ambassador Courtney Ormod will showcase the work of their charity Endometriosis Awareness UK, will also introduce experts on obstetrics, pharmacy, and menstrual bleeding. Though a deeply serious issue, campaign Coppafeel will take a cheeky look at breast cancer.
“The increased suicide rate amongst women particularly from BAME backgrounds and the still-rising impact of social media on women’s health and body image will also be on the agenda and will point to a bias towards men that has at its heart, a fear of talking about such issues” continued Dr Sharma, “but this will be the opportunity for us to feed into the forthcoming strategy.
Endometriosis is for me, the most concerning of all these examples. Though it debilitates one in ten women, diagnosis can take up to seven years and many sufferers are simply not believed. What if men presented with a condition like that? Would they be satisfied with that outcome? I doubt it.”
Dr Sharma presides over the Improving of Wellbeing for Women 2022 on January 26th9am-3pm. Learn more about the conference at https://bit.ly/3FNzt0U