Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to ensure that women with heavy menstrual bleeding receive a timely diagnosis (a) as covid-19 restrictions are eased and (b) after the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government agrees that it is important for women to have access to support (including information and treatment) for conditions such as heavy menstrual bleeding.

NHS England advises that any woman who is experiencing pain, or discomfort due to conditions such as heavy menstrual bleeding should seek advice from a general practitioner. Advice is also available on NHS.UK, where you can undertake a quick ‘Heavy period self-assessment’, which can advise on simple steps that may help.

We can also advise that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has produced a guideline on assessment and treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding, which was published in March 2018.

The National Health Service wrote to local systems on 31 July to set out the actions we are asking the NHS to take to restore and recover services whilst maintaining capacity to deal with future COVID-19 demand and winter pressures. This includes a full set of actions to ensure general practice and community services – including women’s health – can restore activity to usual levels and reach out proactively to patients whose care may have been delayed.