Why are women’s symptoms often dismissed in healthcare? And could you claim compensation?
By Caitlin Sykes, Clinical Negligence Solicitor
Lots of women may know what it feels like to leave a medical appointment with more questions than answers, or the feeling that your symptoms were dismissed, or brushed aside.
You may leave an appointment with a quiet doubt that lingers long after you’ve left the doctor’s surgery. Because you know your body, and you know it’s telling you that something doesn’t quite feel right.
Experiences like this are more common than you may realise.
Are you a victim of the Gender Pain Gap?
When a healthcare professional downplays, overlooks or doubts what you’re experiencing, it goes far beyond dismissing your concerns; it can place your health at real risk.
If you’ve seen or read any features which focus on women’s health recently, you may have heard of the Gender Pain Gap, a term which is often used when women feel their pain is not always fully understood or acknowledged within healthcare.
According to a study by Nurofen into women’s health, 62% of women felt their pain was dismissed or ignored within the healthcare setting in 2024.
Whether it’s ongoing discomfort, unexplained fatigue or more serious symptoms; ignoring them or dismissing them can delay a diagnosis and treatment, which can have catastrophic outcomes – both to a person’s physical and mental health.
Feeling like no one is taking your pain seriously can leave you feeling isolated or uncertain about where to turn. Over time, this takes an emotional toll not just a physical one. The broader impact of ignoring women’s pain is also significant for society and the loved ones it affects. Psychological and mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress, can arise from untreated pain or pain which is dismissed. These issues can further compound the challenges women face in accessing appropriate care and support.
Sadly, the issue of women’s pain being ignored in healthcare is reflected in both legal and medical considerations. In the case of O’Connell v The Ministry of Defence, the courts acknowledged that someone who is suffering from chronic pain can often face challenges in proving their symptoms, particularly when there is no clear medical explanation. Often, this can lead to allegations of exaggeration or malingering, even when medical experts support the account of the person who is suffering.
Such cases highlight the difficulty in recognising and validating pain that lacks a definitive pathological cause, which can disproportionately affect women due to biases in healthcare and legal systems.
Every year, around 7,500 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the UK, the sixth most common cancer among women, but it is often diagnosed late, with many cases only identified after emergency presentation. Symptoms are commonly misattributed to less serious conditions such as IBS or menopause.
The judgment in Oliver v Williams, which outlined a delay in diagnosis of ovarian cancer due to healthcare providers dismissing symptoms. This case highlights the importance of timely communication and follow-up in the diagnostic process. A delay in diagnosis does not just worsen a prognosis, it can also cause psychological effects.
If any of this sounds familiar to you, or you have suffered harm, distress or ongoing complications because a medical professional dismissed your symptoms; it’s important to know that your experience matters.
If you have any concerns relating to a treatment that has been provided to you or a loved one, it can be helpful to explore the options available to you. To help bring closure and allow you to move forward with clarity, we can investigate the care you received and identify whether it fell below acceptable standards.
Should you wish to discuss your case in the strictest confidence, please call 0191 566 6500 or email law@longdens.co.uk and we will be here to listen to your concerns.
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