Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish (a) guidance to health professionals on and (b) a strategy for expediting diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis.

It is unacceptable that women can wait so long for an endometriosis diagnosis and the Government is taking action to address this.

The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy, published in April, identifies endometriosis as a priority condition, where women experience unacceptably long delays to diagnosis, pain being dismissed, and fragmented care. The strategy commits to speeding up diagnosis and access to treatment for conditions including endometriosis by announcing the investment of an additional £1 million for a new programme to improve education for girls about their menstrual health, and helping them know when to seek treatment, by redesigning clinical pathways for heavy periods and pelvic pain, including endometriosis, to reduce repeat appointments, unnecessary referrals and long waits, supporting integrated care boards to introduce single points of access for gynaecology referrals and a shift away from hospital only care towards neighbourhood community settings.

Menstrual problems, including those caused by endometriosis, will be among the first nine conditions available for referral to NHS Online from 2027, which will help to reduce patient waiting times.

Surgical hubs are helping endometriosis patients get quicker treatment. There are currently 125 operational elective surgical hubs in England. Approximately half of the 125 operational surgical hubs provide gynaecology services, with laparoscopies, which are used to diagnose and treat endometriosis, being a key part of this offering.

The Government also acknowledges the importance of ensuring healthcare professionals are adequately trained and educated on women’s health conditions, including endometriosis, and we have taken action to address this.

The General Medical Council has introduced the Medical Licensing Assessment, and the content for this assessment includes several topics relating to women’s health, including endometriosis.

Women's health is included the Royal College of General Practitioners’ (RCGP) curriculum for trainee general practitioners and the RCGP has also published a Women’s Health Library which brings together educational resources and guidelines on women’s health from the RCGP, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the College of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare. This resource is continually updated to ensure general practitioners and other primary healthcare professionals have the most up-to-date advice to provide the best care for their patients.

Generally, employers in the health system are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to the required standards to deliver appropriate treatment for patients.

General practitioners are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge remains up-to-date and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development.