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Written Question
Contraceptives: Endometriosis
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS guidance webpage entitled Getting an IUD (intrauterine device) or copper coil fitted or removed, last reviewed on 15 February 2024, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the extra pain relief that can be made available during the fitting of intrauterine devices on levels of people with endometriosis having intrauterine devices fitted.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Long-acting reversible contraceptive fitting services are commissioned at a local level to meet the needs of the local population. Local authorities and integrated care boards are responsible for ensuring services are delivered in accordance with quality and safety standards and clinical guidance.

The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH), who are responsible for the clinical issue of pain relief during intrauterine contraception procedures, have published updated clinical guidance for healthcare professionals on pain management during these procedures. FSRH guidance is clear that healthcare professionals should work in partnership with women to establish the best strategies for reducing anxiety, and the most effective interventions for minimising pain during intrauterine contraception procedures.


Written Question
Endometriosis: Health Services
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Women's Health Strategy for England, updated on 30 August 2022, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of progress on the 10-year ambition that women and girls with severe endometriosis experience better care.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

No specific assessment has been made. Care for menstrual problems including endometriosis is a 2024 priority for implementing the Women’s Health Strategy. We are investing £25 million in women’s health hubs, so that women can get better access to care for menstrual problems, including women with suspected or diagnosed endometriosis.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is in the process of updating its recommendations on diagnosing endometriosis, and surgical management of endometriosis if fertility is a priority. The NICE will provide information on the expected publication date of its final guidance in due course.

Additionally, NHS England is updating the service specification for severe endometriosis, which defines the expected standards of care. This update will ensure that specialist endometriosis services have access to the most up-to-date evidence and advice, and will improve standards of care for women with severe endometriosis.


Written Question
Endometriosis: Diagnosis
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to reduce the average time taken for an endometriosis diagnosis.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

Care for menstrual problems including endometriosis is a 2024 priority for implementing the Women’s Health Strategy. We are investing £25 million in establishing women’s health hubs, which will play a key role in improving access to care for menstrual problems including suspected endometriosis.

Through the NHS Delivery Plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care, we are increasing activity through dedicated and protected surgical hubs that conduct planned procedures only. Surgical hubs are focusing on providing high-volume low-complexity surgery such as laparoscopies for suspected endometriosis. As of March 2024, 48 surgical hubs conduct gynaecological procedures.

Community diagnostic centres (CDCs) are playing an important part in tackling the backlogs of people waiting for diagnostic tests, which includes checks, tests, and scans for patients on gynaecological pathways, including those with endometriosis. As of March 2024, there are 155 CDCs open already, and up to 160 set to open by March 2025.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is currently updating its guideline on diagnosing and managing endometriosis, which will provide healthcare professionals with evidence-based recommendations on diagnosing and treating endometriosis. NHS England is also updating the service specification for severe endometriosis, which sets the standards of care expected from National Health Service organisations.


Written Question
Gender Dysphoria: Children
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children in England have been issued puberty blockers since 2019.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

We have always been clear that children’s safety and well-being is paramount, so we welcomed NHS England’s landmark decision to ban routine use puberty blockers to children experiencing gender dysphoria. This decision was based on the available evidence and expert clinical opinion.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists or puberty blockers are used to treat several medical conditions in children and young people. These can include precocious puberty, some forms of cancer, endometriosis, and gender dysphoria.

Information on the clinical indication for which these medications have been prescribed is not held centrally. The following table shows the number of identifiable patients prescribed and dispensed gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists for all purposes, in primary and secondary care in England from 2019 to September 2022:

Financial year

Patients identified

2018/19

1,072

2019/20

1,048

2020/21

936

2021/22

864

April to September 2022

693

Source: NHS Business Services Authority

Note: Prescriptions have only been included where a National Health Service number has been identified during processing, and an age has been recorded. The same patients may appear in multiple years.


Written Question
Endometriosis: Diagnosis
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the time taken for endometriosis diagnoses.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

Care for menstrual problems including endometriosis is a 2024 priority for implementing the Women’s Health Strategy. We are investing £25 million in establishing women’s health hubs, which will play a key role in improving access to care for menstrual problems such as suspected endometriosis.

Through the NHS Delivery Plan for tackling the COVID-19 related elective care backlog, we are increasing activity through dedicated and protected surgical hubs that conduct planned procedures only. Surgical hubs are focusing on providing high-volume low-complexity surgery such as laparoscopies for suspected endometriosis. As of March 2024, 48 surgical hubs conduct gynaecological procedures.

Community diagnostic centres (CDCs) are playing an important part in tackling the backlogs of people waiting for diagnostic tests, which includes checks, tests, and scans for patients on gynaecological pathways, including those with endometriosis. As of March 2024, there are 155 CDCs open already, and up to 160 set to open by March 2025.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is currently updating its guideline on diagnosing and managing endometriosis, which will provide healthcare professionals with evidence-based recommendations on diagnosing and treating endometriosis. NHS England is also updating the service specification for severe endometriosis, which sets the standards of care expected from National Health Service organisations.


Written Question
Health: Girls
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to improve girls' health.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

Health policy is devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive. The Women’s Health Strategy for England sets out our plans for boosting the health and wellbeing of women and girls. It takes a life course approach, focused on understanding the changing health and care needs of women and girls across their lives, from adolescents and young adults to later life. We recently set out our priorities for 2024, which include actions to improve girls’ health, such as improving care for menstrual problems like endometriosis, continuing to roll out women’s health hubs, and boosting research.

In addition, the Department and the National Health Service have a number of universal public health interventions to improve the health and wellbeing of all children, and respond to further needs and safeguarding concerns. This includes investing approximately £300 million over three years to improve support for families though the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, the Family Nurse Partnership to support vulnerable young mothers, the Healthy Start scheme to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children under four years old from low-income households, and Mental Health Support Teams in schools.

To support our ambition to eliminate cervical cancer, all children aged 12 to 13 years old are offered the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. Due to the success of the adolescent HPV programme, there has been an 87% reduction in cervical cancers for those vaccinated when compared to previous generations.


Written Question
Endometriosis: Medical Treatments
Thursday 11th January 2024

Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the availability of treatment for women with endometriosis.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

No specific assessment has been made. Menstrual health and gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis, is a priority in the Women’s Health Strategy. We are investing £25 million in women’s health hubs, so that women can get better access to care for menstrual problems, including women with suspected or diagnosed endometriosis.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is updating its recommendations on diagnosing endometriosis and surgical management of endometriosis if fertility is a priority. NICE will provide information on the expected publication date of its final guidance in due course.

Additionally, NHS England is updating the service specification for severe endometriosis, which defines the expected standards of care. This update will ensure that specialist endometriosis services have access to the most up-to-date evidence and advice and will improve standards of care for women with severe endometriosis.


Written Question
Health Services: Women
Monday 8th January 2024

Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for (a) treatment for and (b) diagnosis of (i) endometriosis, (ii) polycystic ovary syndrome and (iii) other women's health concerns; and what steps she is taking to help ensure young women seeking treatment for these conditions have their concerns taken seriously.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

The Women’s Health Strategy sets out the government’s plans for boosting the health and wellbeing of women and girls and ensuring they feel listened to and have their concerns taken seriously. We are investing £25 million in women’s health hubs which will play a key role in improving access to care. Menstrual problems assessment and treatment for conditions such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are core services in women’s health hubs.

Community diagnostic centres (CDCs) are playing an important part in tackling the backlogs of people waiting for diagnostic tests, which includes checks, tests and scans for patients on gynaecological pathways, including those with endometriosis and PCOS. As of December 2023, there are 140 CDCs operational which have delivered over six million additional tests since July 2021.

Additionally, gynaecology is one of six specialties being prioritised through surgical hubs for planned procedures. Surgical hubs focus on providing high-volume low-complexity surgery, such as hysteroscopies for women not suitable for outpatient clinic procedures and laparoscopies for suspected endometriosis. There are currently 94 surgical hubs operational across the National Health Service in England, with 45 of these conducting gynaecological procedures.


Written Question
Endometriosis
Friday 8th December 2023

Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for (a) diagnosis of and (b) care for people with endometriosis.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are investing £25 million in women’s health hubs, so that women can get better access to care for menstrual problems, including for women with suspected or diagnosed endometriosis. Women’s health hubs will play a key role in improving care for common gynaecological and urogynaecological conditions, with care for endometriosis outlined as a core service within the women’s health hubs.

Community diagnostic centres (CDCs) also play an important part in tackling the backlogs of people waiting for diagnostic tests, which includes checks, tests, and scans for patients on gynaecological pathways, including those with endometriosis. As of October 2023, there are 135 CDCs currently operational which have delivered over five million additional tests since July 2021.

The elective recovery plan set clear ambitions to eliminate long waits for planned National Health Service treatment. The overall vision is to eradicate waits of longer than a year for elective care by March 2025. We are making good progress on tackling the longest waits; in July 2022 the NHS virtually eliminated waits of over two years and have since worked hard to reduce the number of patients waiting more than 18 months by over 90%, since the September 2021 peak.

The NHS will triage patients waiting for elective care, including surgeries, through three key stages. Firstly, through clinical prioritisation, ensuring the order in which patients are seen reflects clinical judgement on need. Secondly, by targeting those waiting the longest, and thirdly by increasing the number of cancer referrals, ensuring those patients who have not yet presented to services are included.


Written Question
Endometriosis
Friday 8th December 2023

Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of the level of awareness of endometriosis among doctors.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

The Women’s Health Strategy sets out our ambitions for all healthcare professionals to be well informed about women’s health, and supported to provide women with the best care possible.

Women’s health is a core competency for general practitioners (GPs) and is included in the Royal College of General Practitioners’ (RCGP) curriculum for trainee GPs. The RCGP has developed a ‘Women’s Health Library’, which brings together educational resources and guidelines on women’s health topics including on endometriosis.

The General Medical Council will introduce the Medical Licensing Assessment from the academic year 2024/2025. This includes women’s health topics such as endometriosis, encouraging a better understanding of endometriosis for doctors starting their careers.