by Sue Brown, CEO ARMA
ARMA is in the process of writing up the report of our inquiry into the impact of deprivation on MSK health inequalities. Of course, this is not the only factor that impacts on MSK health inequalities. Age, sex, ethnicity and a range of other factors intersect to give the highly unequal picture we see. So I was delighted to be invited to speak at a Kings Fund conference on women’s health.
MSK proved to be an excellent introduction to the day with many parallels with the rest of the agenda. Zoe Clark opened the panel discussion with a powerful account of her experiences getting a diagnosis of AxSpA and the support and care she needed to manage a long term condition.
AxSpA is not the only condition which manifests differently in men and women and where health care professionals may not recognise the symptoms and act accordingly. Heart attacks were mentioned several times at the conference in this context. The failure to recognise the symptoms of AxSpA in women leads to longer delays in diagnosis, delays which are already unacceptably long for men as well.
Another theme across the conference was women not being listened to. In fact, there was an entire panel discussion devoted to how we can address the fact that women are less likely to be listened to by health care professionals than men. We know that women’s pain is often dismissed as psychological or exaggerated. Sadly, I don’t think the panel came up with any solutions to this one. The belief that women exaggerate their pain seems to be widespread, not just amongst healthcare professions. It is an unconscious bias that every health care professional should be aware of.
This week I spoke at the NOA annual conference on inequalities, joining a panel discussion on equality diversity and inclusion. Of course, the recent coverage of sexual misconduct by male surgeons was referenced. Discrimination and microaggressions (sexism and racism) seemed to be a common experience amongst the panel. This behaviour is shocking and unacceptable.
One thing I was keen to highlight was the links with the patient experience. If patients are seen by consultants who believe this behaviour to be appropriate, then how can they expect to get equal treatment for their health conditions? There is no conflict between the NHS addressing inequalities in the workplace and quality patient care – they are two sides of the same coin.
We need to stand up and challenge this discrimination and bias, both against women in healthcare and women patients. A number of delegates noted that attendance at the Kings Fund conference was almost entirely women. The NOA panel discussed the importance of allies – men need to speak out, to support women professionals, and to question their own unconscious biases about women patients.
As with everything ARMA does, the message is, together, we can make a difference.