The Harbour and The Winterbourne Hospitals, part of Circle Health Group, the UK’s largest independent healthcare provider, has joined forces with parenting website Mumsnet to help thousands of women across Dorset to get the answers they desperately need to a range of gynaecology-related problems. 

The partnership, launched in July, provides women with practical and expert advice on how to access the treatment they need, whether this means a new diagnosis or the management of a pre-existing condition. 

Mumsnet was founded in 2000 by Justine Roberts, with a mission to make patients’ lives easier. For more than 20 years. Mumsnet has supported and led campaigns on issues that affect its mainly female – users. 

They are now embarking on this landmark partnership to give users the chance to ask women’s health related questions directly to one of the UK’s leading gynaecologists.   

Dr Sujata Gupta, from Circle Health Group, is an accomplished consultant gynaecologist with expertise in both conventional and robotic surgery. She has more than 15 years’ experience in gynaecology, helping patients with a wide variety of women’s health conditions. Her key focus areas are endometriosis, menopause, gynaecological cancers and painful periods. Dr Gupta’s work is centred around helping women access the right information and treatment they need to manage and even overcome their gynaecological conditions that affect their daily lives. 

Historically the diagnosis and treatment of gynaecological conditions has been challenging, with women often left waiting years for a diagnosis, or in some cases never receiving a clear answer. Recent data published by the Independent Healthcare Providers Network and The Patients Association in a report looking at patient choice, showed that in most areas of the UK, women were waiting over 6 months to see a specialist. 

The government has recently announced a new strategy to target failings in women’s health care with measures such as mandatory gynaecology modules for trainee doctors but while this is a positive step, it doesn’t help the problems millions of women are facing right now. 

With concerns around access to treatment and how to make the most out of a consultation with a GP or specialist at an all-time high, the hospital’s and Mumsnet’s campaign to empower women to better understand their health, and how to get the answers they need to improve their lives, has never been more important. 

Dr Sujata Gupta, Consultant Gynaecologist from Circle Health Group, said: 

“Thousands of women in Dorset struggle with the effects of a gynaecological condition and yet often go undiagnosed for years. The greatest challenge is often finding the right information, or the feeling of embarrassment that comes suffering with this type of condition. This has a dramatic impact on how women engage with healthcare professionals and ultimately prevents them from asking the appropriate questions and getting the diagnosis they need.” 

Commenting on the campaign, Adam Busby, Acting Group Clinical Director at Circle Health Group, said: 

“Partnering with Mumsnet gives us the opportunity to share our specialist expertise with women in a way that they can engage with safely and in the confidence that they will be listened to. The more we share about gynaecology and how to best reach a diagnosis the better chance we have of ending this damaging stigma.” 

Mumsnet founder and CEO Justine Roberts, said: 

“Mumsnet users have frequently told us about their struggles to access vital women’s health services, often with serious consequences. We’re glad that this partnership will enable women to seek expert advice via Mumsnet, and empower our users to advocate for themselves, while we continue to campaign to tackle decades of entrenched inequality in healthcare”.