Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve the diagnosis and treatment of lipoedema.

No such analysis has been made.

There are several different treatments available for the management of lipoedema such as compression therapy, exercise and massage. There is limited evidence on the efficacy of liposuction for the treatment of lipoedema, and it is not routinely available on the National Health Service.

In May 2014, the Royal College of General Practitioners, in partnership with the charity Lipoedema UK, developed and published an e-learning module for general practitioners on the diagnosis and management of lipoedema. The module was endorsed by the Royal College of Nursing and can be found at the following link:

elearning.rcgp.org.uk/course/info.php?id=146&popup=0