I lost my job in a primary school due to endometriosis
0 / 56
English
中文
Hayley lost her job as a teaching assistant last October, after being told she was unfit to work Hayley Locksley was 11 years old when she started her periods and excruciating pain became part of her life.
（暂无翻译）
"I used to spend every month in the sick room at school," she says.
（暂无翻译）
Hayley, from Shefford, Bedfordshire, would often pass out from the pain but the doctors' advice was to take paracetamol.
（暂无翻译）
Aged 24, she was diagnosed with endometriosis - a condition that affects one in 10 women, where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows outside of the uterus.
（暂无翻译）
Hayley says she loved her job working in a nursery, but her employers questioned whether her symptoms were real and asked her to use annual leave to cover sick days.
（暂无翻译）
After she had surgery for endometriosis, Hayley decided to switch to office work, due to it being less physically demanding.
（暂无翻译）
But her new colleagues asked why she was spending so long in the toilet. "I had to explain that my bladder sometimes did not empty fully, causing severe pain and horrendous diarrhoea.
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
I found the questioning embarrassing and humiliating," she says. Hayley had her appendix removed because doctors thought that was the issue, until she was diagnosed with endometriosis After having her daughter, who is now aged seven, Hayley decided to pursue her dream of working with children again and became a special needs teaching assistant in a primary school four years ago.
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
However, she was placed under review after her sickness absence increased and she lost her job last October, after being told she was unfit to work.
（暂无翻译）
"I didn't want to give up my career but my health meant I could no longer continue," she says.
（暂无翻译）
"I now use a walking stick, experience severe back and leg pain, and have fallen numerous times.
（暂无翻译）
Losing my job has been so tough for my mental health," she adds.
（暂无翻译）
Nearly half of women with endometriosis have lost income due to the condition, according to a new report , externalby the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Endometriosis. The inquiry found 97% had worked while in severe pain, 47% had lost income because of their symptoms, and 28% had left a job altogether.
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
Endometriosis surgeon Dr Rebecca Mallick says the figures are shocking, but not surprising.
（暂无翻译）
"Women should not have to choose between their health and their careers.
（暂无翻译）
We have raised awareness for years.
（暂无翻译）
Now we need meaningful action," she says. Similarly to Hayley, doctors removed Carla's appendix, but it was endometriosis that was causing her excruciating pain Carla Cressy worked as a model from the age of five until she was 17, but she kept collapsing on shoots and retrained as a self-employed beauty therapist. The 35-year-old from Essex was diagnosed with endometriosis 10 years ago.
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
Yet as it was left untreated for so long, it progressed into frozen pelvis disease and destroyed her reproductive organs, leaving her needing bladder reconstruction and a total hysterectomy.
（暂无翻译）
Carla was made an OBE earlier this year for helping endometriosis become a more visible and better-understood condition Carla now runs the charity The Endometriosis Foundation, external and gave evidence to the inquiry.
（暂无翻译）
"Having experienced first hand the impact endometriosis can have on your working life, I know just how difficult it can be. And these are things we hear about from our community every single day.
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
"People struggling to stay in work, taking time off for treatment, losing income and sometimes having to give up careers they've worked incredibly hard for.
（暂无翻译）
"I really hope this isn't where the conversation ends.
（暂无翻译）
We need to keep the pressure on government to prioritise endometriosis care, but employers have a part to play too. Better understanding and support in the workplace can make such a difference to someone's life."
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson agrees the condition can have a "devastating impact" on women's lives and says the inquiry's findings highlight the need for better support, both in healthcare and in the workplace.
（暂无翻译）
Faye says women with endometriosis have to deal with "unrealistic expectations" when managing their condition alongside their jobs Faye Ramsey, 32, from Ipswich, spent 10 years in agony, with doctors suggesting she had irritable bowel syndrome before she was finally diagnosed last year. She had a hysterectomy in June and had her endometriosis removed but struggled mentally and physically to return to work as a teaching assistant. Through her work as the founder of a support organisation called Girls Anatomy, Faye has met women who have lost their jobs, had their hours reduced, or been physically sick at work after "dragging themselves in...because they don't want to lose their jobs".
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
Faye, who also gave evidence to the inquiry, wants to see more endometriosis friendly recognised employers, external and better protection for women with the condition in their probation periods.
（暂无翻译）
"It's not pleasant to try and fight for your job and justify why you're the way that you are and why you're having that time off," she says.
（暂无翻译）
"Your absence policy shouldn't be the same as someone who is able-bodied and has no medical condition, you shouldn't be [judged] against that person because it's just not fair."
（暂无翻译）
The government says it is working with employers to improve awareness of the condition.
（暂无翻译）
More than 6,000 women were interviewed for the inquiry and 94% said employers lacked a good understanding of endometriosis, and half received no workplace adjustments.
（暂无翻译）
Of the 250 employers surveyed, 72% said their organisation gives no training or guidance on women's health.
（暂无翻译）
But Matthew Percival, the Confederation of British Industry's future of work and skills director, says businesses are "increasingly aware of women's health issues".
（暂无翻译）
Firms are keen to explore how they can support women "without their careers being held back", in a "wider shift" towards helping improve health and wellbeing in the workplace, he adds.
（暂无翻译）
Hayley, Carla and Faye all say they hope employers can show more understanding of endometriosis in the future.
（暂无翻译）
They want women to be believed, treated with dignity and supported to remain in work.
（暂无翻译）
"Behind every absence, every appointment and every person who struggles at work, there may be a much bigger story than they realise," Hayley says.
（暂无翻译）
Hayley hopes she will be able to return to the classroom one day, but at the moment she knows it is not possible.
（暂无翻译）
"Endometriosis has taken so much from me.
（暂无翻译）
I don't want to be in this position.
（暂无翻译）
I loved my job and I worked really hard.
（暂无翻译）
To be told at 40 years old that I'm not fit for work, I'm now left wondering, is that it for my working life?
（暂无翻译）
"I'm still 25 years away from retirement age.
（暂无翻译）
Am I going to be able to ever work again?" Do you have a story suggestion for Beds, Herts or Bucks? Contact us below. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, external, Instagram, external and X, external.
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译） （暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
I had to stop modelling because I kept passing out from crippling endometriosis
（暂无翻译）
仅供学习使用，如有侵权请联系删除 · 查看原文