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The Independent
4 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
‘I'm in pain with endometrosis almost daily but have to justify how bad it is to get care I need'
Zainab Kaleemullah lives with debilitating pain almost daily, and despite a 14-year battle to finally get a diagnosis, she says she still has to justify her pain to get the treatment she needs. The 36-year-old has severe endometriosis and adenomyosis - painful conditions where tissue grows outside of the uterus or into the muscular wall of it - and spent more than a decade making repeated trips to doctors to get to the bottom of the cause. She says she was misdiagnosed with conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome and depression, and even after being diagnosed, she faced a further two-year wait for surgery to remove the harmful tissue. She told The Independent: 'I get pain almost every day now… Sometimes I've felt that my condition isn't taken seriously, or they [medics] think that I perhaps over exaggerated with my pain, or they think it's probably something else.' 'This condition was causing me such debilitating pain, and I almost feel like I have to justify it every single time I talk about it.' Ms Kaleemullah is one of the 25 million people in England struggling with a long-term health condition, such as endometriosis, cystic fibrosis, epilepsy and diabetes. Research shared exclusively with The Independent estimates that around 7.5 million of those are not getting the support they need from NHS services - a 10 per cent in the past five years, according to a study by charity National Voices and think tank Future Health. Patients with long-term conditions account for 70 per cent of GP appointments and 50 per cent of hospital appointments and treatment. Despite this, 11.5 million do not have an NHS plan to help them manage their illness, such as timely access to specialists or correct pain management. The report authors have called for the NHS to be measured on this performance and held to account on patients' experience, alongside its existing targets for A&E and hospital care. Richard Sloggett, programme director for Future Health and a report author, called for the government to prioritise the experiences of patients with long-term conditions. He said: 'This report highlights the challenges millions of patients with long-term conditions are facing in accessing high-quality NHS services and support. There is a danger in yet another NHS restructure that the experience of patients is marginalised. This would be completely counter-productive.' Sharon Brennan, director of policy and advocacy group External Affairs at National Voices, said: 'We know people with long-term conditions feel increasingly alone in managing their health needs, often acting as the single co-ordinator of their care while also trying to maintain a life that is more than just their health conditions 'The NHS must move from a bean-counting culture of data collection and seek to understand the experiences of real people using the NHS.' 'It's like my insides are set alight' Even after surgery, Ms Kaleemullah said she continues to struggle to get the support she needs from the NHS. She said GPs and other specialists fail to see endometriosis as a 'full body illness', presuming instead that it is only associated with periods. 'I can have very debilitating pelvic pain, and it feels almost like my insides have been set alight…I get pain almost every day now. I can't walk long distances because I get really bad, lower back pain, abdominal pain, pelvic pain, get really bad migraines, fatigue… so it's very frustrating when I present myself to the doctor that they don't take into full account that I'm dealing with this at every single day.' Endometriosis, which impacts more than 1.5 million women in the UK, is a condition in which body tissues that line the inside of the uterus can grow outside of the womb, often affecting other organs such as the ovaries and bladder. 'I have to prove I need medication' Mary Saunders from Southport lives with hypothyroidism, a condition where the thyroid gland produces too little thyroid hormone. Patients with the condition need lifelong medication. It took her 16 years to get a correct diagnosis; however, much like Ms Kaleemullah, she has she struggled to manage her condition and access the medication she needed. It took seven years of taking the standard medication, levothyroxine, with persistent new and worsening symptoms occurring, to discover, through her own research, that there was an alternative called liothyronine, which was more expensive for the NHS. This month, the pharmaceutical company Advanz lost a high court appeal against a £99 million fine by the Competition and Markets Authority in 2021, after it increased the cost of liothyronine from £20 a box to £248. NHS doctors eventually agreed she could trial liothyronine but said she would have to buy it privately, so she spent years trying to source the medication more cheaply in Europe. However, when Covid hit and this became impossible, Ms Saunders again sought to get an NHS prescription. To do this, doctors said she would have to 'prove' she needed the medication by coming off of it for six weeks. 'It's like saying to patients. You're gonna be ill for six weeks now, because you're not gonna have what you need, the life-giving medication that supports your body.' Although she is now under an endocrinologist she trusts, Ms Saunders says: 'If my doctor leaves the service, I could be thrown right back where I was, I couldn't count on the NHS, because I have had 16 years of this, I don't count on the NHS.' A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'The government inherited a broken NHS, and it is unacceptable that too many people living with long term conditions have not been getting the care they need. 'The 10 Year Health Plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed to move healthcare from hospital to the community, analogue to digital, sickness to prevention, while putting patients at the centre of their own care.'
Cision Canada
30-04-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
Windmill Microlending and RBC announce a new initiative to address shortages in primary healthcare nationwide Français
TORONTO, April 30, 2025 /CNW/ - Canada is facing a healthcare crisis, with millions lacking access to primary care and doctor shortages worsening nationwide. On May 1, Windmill Microlending is expanding support for internationally trained physicians, thanks to a $5 million donation from RBC. This funding will help 850 physicians restart their careers over the next five years, helping improve healthcare access for Canadians. This is the largest corporate donation Windmill has received in support of healthcare workers. Fittingly, this announcement comes on May 1, National Physicians' Day, a day dedicated to recognizing the contributions of physicians across the country. A recent Health Canada report, Caring for Canadians: Canada's Future Health Workforce (January 2025), highlights the urgent need for more doctors across Canada, as domestic training alone cannot meet demand. Internationally trained physicians (ITPs) are key to solving this crisis, yet a majority struggle to resume their careers due to costly and complex licensing processes, lack of opportunities and limited access to credit to fund their endeavours. Windmill helps these highly skilled newcomers by providing low-interest loans, coaching and mentorship to support foreign credential recognition and reaccreditation. Now, Windmill and RBC—collaborators since 2006—are increasing their efforts to prevent the loss of valuable medical talent. RBC's new donation will fund loans and comprehensive wrap-around supports for foreign-trained doctors who qualify for Windmill's Healthcare Reaccreditation Loan program. Supports include individualized coaching, financial literacy training, digital career resources, and mentorship. The result of this expanded funding for ITPs will help to improve access to primary care and health equity across Canada. "Canada has a critical shortage of doctors but a wealth of internationally trained physicians keen to restart their careers in Canada. We're thrilled that, thanks to RBC's support, newcomer physicians will be able to afford the costs of recertification, and Canadians will have access to hundreds more doctors. All of us at Windmill are so grateful to RBC for their vision, funding and support" says Claudia Hepburn, CEO, Windmill Microlending. "Canada's healthcare crisis is exacerbated by staff shortages, burnout and high attrition rates," says Andrea Barrack, Senior Vice President, Sustainability and Impact, RBC. "Along will donations to more than 50 Canadian hospitals, our support of Windmill is aligned with our broader ambition to help reskill, upskill and improve the resiliency of our workforce, including healthcare workers across the country who are vital to our collective prosperity." Interviews are available. BACKGROUND About Windmill Microlending Windmill Microlending (Le Moulin Microcrédits) is a national charity founded in 2005 with a mission to empower skilled immigrants to achieve economic prosperity. Leveraging a unique social finance model, Windmill helps qualified newcomers overcome professional employment barriers by providing accessible, affordable career loans and support services. Windmill's clients, now numbering over 13,000, come from over 150 countries worldwide and span various professional sectors, including healthcare, business and IT and STEM. More than half of Windmill's clients are internationally educated healthcare professionals (IEHPs), including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists and many others. Health Canada estimates the current doctor shortage in Canada at 23,000 individuals (Source: A recent survey by Unity Health Toronto revealed that 6.5 million Canadians do not have a regular healthcare provider (physician or nurse practitioner). In 2024, CIHI reported 5 million Canadians struggled to access primary care. Windmill's Healthcare Reaccreditation Loan is offered at 4.95% interest, pegged to prime.
