AQW 22724/22-27

Ms Connie Egan
Alliance Party
North Down

Tabled Date: 17/02/2025
Answered On Date: 04/03/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health what focus the Women's Health Action Plan will place on gynaecological cancers, particularly symptom awareness.

Answer:

The Cancer Strategy for Northern Ireland 2022-2032 recognises the importance of raising awareness of signs and symptoms of all cancers to enable early diagnosis, treatment and support better outcomes for patients. The Women's Health Action Plan will seek to place a greater focus on conditions which affect women's health and well-being, including gynaecological conditions and cancers.

To help inform the development of the Action Plan, my Department recently hosted a number of engagement events with women's representative groups and healthcare professionals. It was evident through this constructive dialogue that women want to see improvements in terms of public awareness, information and education on women’s health matters from an early age and across the life course, and I am fully supportive of making this one of the key objectives.

Unfortunately, budget pressures have led to a pause across all campaign advertising currently, with detrimental impacts on my Department's ability to improve public education and awareness on a range of important public health matters including cancer and women's health. However, in conjunction with the Public Health Agency, my officials are considering how best to educate and inform specific groups of women and girls through other approaches in a way that meets their needs as work on the Action Plan continues.