The Medical Women’s Federation (MWF) held their spring meeting at the Culloden Hotel Belfast from Friday 9th to Saturday 10th May 2008. The educational programme looked at ‘what makes women sick’ and was opened by Michael McGimpsey, health minister for Northern Ireland, who acknowledged the importance of women in the medical workforce. Eminent local speakers covered a variety of important women’s health issues including pain in women, the importance of diet and increasing incidence of heart disease in women. Ms Paddy Sloane, national head for BBC Children in Need Northern Ireland highlighted the problems specific to underprivileged women and children, with one in three children living in poverty in Northern Ireland. The MWF 2008 Essay Prizes were awarded to Sophie Bertaud and John Williamson both fourth year medical students at University College Hospital London. Both of these students addressed important sexual health issues for women, namely the availability of the contraceptive pill over the counter and the vaccination programme for the human papillomavirus.

The Medical Women’s Federation passed a motion unanimously to encourage the Departments of Health to invest in schemes to prevent trainee doctors being lost from the medical workforce given the current likelihood of medical unemployment in the UK. A motion was also passed to support no change in the time limit for abortion as stated in the 1990 amendment of the 1967 abortion act.

Dr Helen Goodyear, in her inaugural presidential address entitled ‘The Glass Ceiling Marathon’ compared shattering the glass ceiling to a long distance event. She emphasized that MWF will campaign and support women doctors to ensure that they are able to work in all specialties and at all grades with family friendly working hours.

 

A full report with photographs will appear in our bulletin Medical Woman. If you would like to be sent photographs from the event please contact Kerenza in the office on admin.mwf@btconnect.com