Endometriosis support group set up in Hartlepool due to long waits
The group meets every Thursday at the women's health hub
Last updated 1st May 2025
A woman from Teesside is urging others to join an endometriosis support group due to long waits to see a gynaecologist.
It has been set up in Hartlepool by Sammi Reay. The group meets every Thursday at 12.30pm to 2.30pm at the women's health hub at The Arches Shopping Village, 79 Park Road, TS24 7PW.
Sammi said: "It's a length process unfortunately. Gynaecologist are few and far between. The appointments take forever which is one of the reasons why I wanted to set up a support group because the pain is excruciating for myself and for many other women.
"It's just the NHS at the moment. There's not that many appointments readily available and unfortunately it's a gynaecologist that you do need to see. I waited two years to be able to see one myself, so seeking the support of other people would are going through it can really help.
"I knew something wasn't right then but going to the GP I guess I always got fobbed off and not really listened to. I didn't know much about endometriosis to really push it further. I just thought 'oh, I've got awful periods. This is kind of what I've got to live with.'
"I had a hernia in my stomach and I was in getting an operation for it and it wasn't until they approached me 'oh, something's come up on your CT scan. It looks like you might have either endometriosis or adenomyosis and that's when I started looking into it more and suddenly everything made sense.
"I've always been on pain relief because I have a few other medical conditions as well but it was sort of about a year ago that it progressively got worse. It's just been back and forth to the GP but there's just not a lot that the GP can do until you get to the gynaecologist because they're the ones that can really help."
If you want to get in contact, email [email protected] or visit postpartummatters.podia.com/womenshealthhub