Women in Suffolk are facing unprecedented delays for gynaecology treatment, with waiting lists reaching their highest level since records began in 2018. More than 2,200 patients per 100,000 people are currently waiting for care in Suffolk and North East Essex.
Why it matters: The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has declared a "gynaecology care crisis" across the UK, with delays affecting women's ability to work and participate in daily activities.
More than 2,200 patients per 100,000 people are currently waiting for care in Suffolk and North East EssexDaisy-DaisyGetty Images
By the numbers:
2,211 patients per 100,000 waiting in Suffolk and North East Essex
Almost double the 2019 figure of 1,142 per 100,000
76% of women report worsening mental health while waiting
69% say they cannot take part in daily activities
What they're saying: "Too many women are waiting too long with serious conditions that can devastate their lives," says RCOG president Dr Ranee Thakar. "NHS staff are also deeply concerned and distressed that they do not have the necessary resources to deliver good care."
The impact: GPs are reporting severe pressure on local surgeries due to the extended hospital waiting times. Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of GPs, says while family doctors can offer some support, their ability to help is limited without access to specialist services.
As a menopause wellness practitioner, I provide non-medical support, information, and signposting for women experiencing menopause symptoms.
I often hear how gynaecological issues severely impact their lives.
Waiting up to five months for a coil fitting, whether for hormone replacement therapy, contraception, or managing heavy bleeding, is deeply concerning.
Conditions such as excessive blood loss, endometriosis, polyps, and pelvic inflammatory disease can cause significant pain, prevent women from working, and lead to emotional exhaustion.
These delays affect not only their health but also their relationships and mental wellbeing. Addressing these waiting times is essential to ensure women receive the timely and compassionate care they need and deserve.
The response: The Department of Health and Social Care says it is "overhauling women's healthcare" with a 10-year health plan, supported by a £22.6bn increase in day-to-day health spending.
Bottom line: While the government promises action to address the crisis, Suffolk and North East Essex continue to face some of the longest waits for essential gynaecology treatment in recent years, which has significant impacts on patients' daily lives and well-being.
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The National Crime Agency's crackdown on high street businesses suspected of links to organised crime has made headlines in Shrewsbury but remains conspicuously absent in Ipswich, despite remarkably similar retail patterns.
A pattern emerging elsewhere
While Ipswich residents have yet to witness raids on local businesses, a stark scene is unfolding elsewhere: officers forcing their way into brightly-coloured barber shops, vape stores, minimarts, candy stores and phone repair shops that have proliferated across town centres.
Last month, the National Crime Agency (NCA) coordinated 265 raids on such premises across England and Wales as part of Operation Machinize, targeting high street businesses suspected of being fronts for international crime gangs – but it remains unclear if Suffolk, or Ipswich, has been part of this operation.
Oliver Rouane-WilliamsIpswich.co.uk
Shrewsbury and Ipswich: towns with similar profiles
In Shrewsbury, a market town not dissimilar to Ipswich, officers detained two Kurdish asylum seekers during raids on barber shops, seizing thousands of pounds in cash and illicit vapes. The intelligence suggested these establishments were linked to money laundering, illegal immigration and drug dealing.
The parallels between Shrewsbury and Ipswich are difficult to ignore. Both are historic county towns with traditional market squares, and a mix of independent and chain retailers. Both have experienced the same influx of barber shops, vape stores, minimarts, candy stores and phone repair shops on their high street.
Yet while Shrewsbury has seen decisive action, Ipswich residents have yet to witness any comparable enforcement activity. At least not visibly. And if it has, it has yet to make any difference.
The Ipswich landscape
According to commercial property analysts Green Street, the average number of barbers per person in England and Wales has doubled in the past decade.
Walk through Ipswich town centre and the changing retail landscape is evident – multiple barber shops, vape outlets, phone repair shops and sweet shops often within yards of each other, typically with very few visible customers.
It is important to note that we are not suggesting any specific businesses in Ipswich are engaged in illegal activity. The presence of these shops alone does not indicate wrongdoing, and many could be legitimate businesses.
But questions should be asked. And questions are being asked – repeatedly – by residents.
The scale of the problem
The National Crime Agency estimates that £12 billion in illicit cash is laundered in the UK annually, with lots of it flowing through criminal front organisations on high streets.
These businesses appeared to surge as shop vacancies grew following the pandemic, creating opportunities for criminal gangs to establish themselves in plain sight.
The suspicious signs are easy to spot: businesses claiming implausible income levels, unpaid utility bills despite supposed high turnover, and the sale of illicit products like illegal vapes and tobacco.
In Greater Manchester, linked mini-marts were found to be staffed by asylum seekers, some working illegally, with hidden compartments concealing contraband.
What Operation Machinize uncovered
During Operation Machinize, authorities discovered cannabis farms, seized Class A drugs, arrested 35 people and questioned 55 suspected illegal immigrants. Three potential victims of modern slavery were identified. Bank accounts worth over £1 million were frozen and £40,000 in cash seized.
Detective Inspector Daniel Fenn, who led raids in Shrewsbury as part of the operation, said: "Members of the public are angry. They can see these fronts are there. The criminals feel they are hidden here. They think they can come to sleepy areas and won't be found."
The same could easily be said of Ipswich.
The pattern of exploitation is particularly concerning – the NCA believes some shops are used as fronts for drug-trafficking, people-smuggling, modern slavery and child sexual exploitation. In 2023, it secured the conviction of one Iranian Kurdish barber shop owner who was using his London premises as a base for smuggling 10,000 people to the UK in small boats.
Impact on legitimate businesses
Legitimate barbers are calling for a registration scheme and stricter regulation. Gareth Penn, chief executive of the Hair and Barber Council, highlighted how illegal barbers have led to fungal infections from improperly cleaned equipment.
More importantly, though, is the damage being done to genuine businesses that cannot compete with those avoiding costs and taxes, and those that cannot find suitable high street premises.
The damage is significant and potentially long-lasting.
Will Ipswich be next?
For Ipswich, the question now is whether Operation Machinize will visibly extend to Suffolk – or indeed, whether it already has without public knowledge.
Unlike local police forces, the National Crime Agency is exempt from Freedom of Information requests, making it impossible for journalists or the public to determine how many Ipswich businesses, if any, have been investigated.
This distinction is important.
While local police forces handle everyday law enforcement, the NCA was specifically created to tackle serious and organised crime that extends across police force boundaries, international borders, or requires specialist capabilities.
Their involvement signals that these high street businesses are not merely local issues but part of sophisticated criminal networks operating nationally and internationally.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis has stated that "high street crime undermines our security, our borders, and the confidence of our communities", promising "decisive action" to bring those responsible to justice.
The road ahead
There are concerns about the effectiveness of current measures. Of the 265 raids conducted, only 10 shops have been shut down permanently. Many businesses raided were back operating within minutes of officers leaving.
The challenge for authorities extends beyond individual shops to dismantling the organised crime networks behind them – networks that may have been profiting in plain sight for years on our high streets. While local police forces can target individual businesses, only the NCA has the mandate and resources to tackle the international networks behind them.
For Ipswich residents concerned about these issues, the prospect of action against suspicious businesses cannot come soon enough. However, due to the secretive nature of NCA operations, we may never know the full extent of their activities in our town – only their results, if and when they choose to make them public.
