Endometriosis and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Debate between Taiwo Owatemi and Munira Wilson(2 years, 5 months ago)
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Taiwo Owatemi
I thank the hon. Member for raising that important point. I agree that it is simply unacceptable.
Before my constituent left, the GP told her to come back when she wanted to get pregnant, leaving her to figure out how to cope on her own in the meantime. Her story of feeling shamed by her peers and gaslit when trying to get a diagnosis is not unique, as many Members have raised. On average, it takes eight years to diagnose a woman with endometriosis, and years to diagnose PCOS, which brings me to my next point.
The Government need to increase funding to study both conditions. We still do not know what causes endometriosis, effective ways of preventing it from spreading to other organs or effective non-surgical ways of managing symptoms. Some 58% of women with endometriosis had to visit a GP more than 10 times to get a diagnosis, while 21% had 10 or more hospital appointments and 53% went to A&E, with 27% going more than three times, before diagnosis. That is deeply distressing for the patient and a terrible use of NHS resources.
Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)
The hon. Lady makes an excellent case and I absolutely support everything she says. I was horrified to hear from a constituent, a qualified nurse, whom it took six years diagnose to diagnose. After two and a half years of daily bleeding and pain, she was finally offered laparoscopic surgery, but was then told by healthcare professionals that the only cure for her was to actually conceive and have a baby, while at the same time being told that she could have fertility problems. Does that not highlight that there needs to be a lot more awareness and education among GPs and healthcare professionals, and adherence to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines?