Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on (a) the number of people with (i) endometriosis and (ii) adenomyosis and (b) the average waiting time for (A) diagnosis and (B) medical treatment.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The information requested is not held centrally. Gynaecology waiting lists in England, numbers of women waiting, and their waiting times are tracked and managed as part of the overall National Health Service focus on reducing the amount of time patients are waiting for elective care.
Patients with symptoms of endometriosis will be prioritised based on clinical need. The NHS led Provider Collaborative has identified endometriosis as a priority area and recently established a group to develop further initiatives to reduce waiting times for endometriosis patients.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department taking to reduce waiting times for (a) GP and (b) hospital appointment waiting times for women with endometriosis.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Patients with symptoms of endometriosis will be prioritised based on clinical need. The National Health Service led Provider Collaborative has identified endometriosis as a priority area and recently established a group to develop further initiatives to reduce waiting times for endometriosis patients.
The Government published its Delivery Plan for Recovering Access to Primary Care on 9 May. This aims to reduce the number of people struggling to contact their general practice, and make sure that arrangements are made for patients’ care the first time they contact their General Practitioner (GP). It will achieve this by moving towards a new Modern General Practice Access model, building capacity to deliver more appointments, and cutting bureaucracy for GPs. This will help ensure that patients who need an appointment with their GP practice, including women with endometriosis, can get one within two weeks.
To support elective recovery, including for hospital appointments and gynaecology and endometriosis related surgery, the Government plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25. This funding is in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available to systems last year to help drive up and protect elective activity. As part of the Autumn Statement 2022, the Government is investing an additional £3.3 billion for 2023/24 and 2024/25 to support the NHS in England, enabling rapid action to improve emergency, elective and primary care performance towards pre-pandemic levels.
Taken together, this funding could deliver the equivalent of nine million more checks, scans and procedures and will mean the NHS in England can aim to deliver around 30% more elective activity by 2024/25 than it was before the pandemic.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2022 to Question 104356 on Endometriosis: Health Services, what recent progress the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has made on updating sections in its guideline on (a) diagnosing endometriosis, (b) surgical management and (c) surgical management if fertility is a priority.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently updating its guideline on endometriosis, which will update its recommendations on diagnosing endometriosis, surgical management and surgical management if fertility is a priority. Although intelligence identified a need for addressing mental wellbeing and support for women with endometriosis, NICE’s review of the current guideline on endometriosis found no evidence that would support specific recommendations in this area.
The current guideline recognises that endometriosis can have a significant physical, sexual, psychological and social impact and that people with endometriosis may have complex needs and require long-term support. NICE currently recommends assessment of the individual support needs of people with suspected of confirmed endometriosis, taking into account their circumstances, symptoms, priorities, desire for fertility, aspects of daily living, work and study, cultural background, and their physical, psychosexual and emotional needs.
Additionally, NICE has published separate guidance on the recognition and management of depression in adults with a chronic physical health problem. NICE will also further explore the topic of mental wellbeing and support for people with endometriosis as part of its topic suite on women’s and reproductive health.
NICE is currently recruiting to the expert Guideline Committee that will be responsible for developing its suite of guidelines related to women’s and reproductive health, including the endometriosis guideline, and will publish further information about timescales on its website in due course.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2022 to Question 104356 on Endometriosis: Health Services, what progress the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has made on assessing the needs and provision of mental wellbeing support for people with suspected or confirmed endometriosis.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently updating its guideline on endometriosis, which will update its recommendations on diagnosing endometriosis, surgical management and surgical management if fertility is a priority. Although intelligence identified a need for addressing mental wellbeing and support for women with endometriosis, NICE’s review of the current guideline on endometriosis found no evidence that would support specific recommendations in this area.
The current guideline recognises that endometriosis can have a significant physical, sexual, psychological and social impact and that people with endometriosis may have complex needs and require long-term support. NICE currently recommends assessment of the individual support needs of people with suspected of confirmed endometriosis, taking into account their circumstances, symptoms, priorities, desire for fertility, aspects of daily living, work and study, cultural background, and their physical, psychosexual and emotional needs.
Additionally, NICE has published separate guidance on the recognition and management of depression in adults with a chronic physical health problem. NICE will also further explore the topic of mental wellbeing and support for people with endometriosis as part of its topic suite on women’s and reproductive health.
NICE is currently recruiting to the expert Guideline Committee that will be responsible for developing its suite of guidelines related to women’s and reproductive health, including the endometriosis guideline, and will publish further information about timescales on its website in due course.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the time between a woman first presenting with symptoms of endometriosis to (a) being diagnosed and (b) receiving treatment.
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 ambition for improving care for women and girls with endometriosis, with a reduced diagnosis time for those with severe endometriosis. Patients with symptoms of endometriosis will be prioritised based on clinical need. Endometriosis can only be definitively diagnosed through a laparoscopy under general anaesthetic, and it can be more appropriate to treat mild symptoms of endometriosis without a definitive diagnosis, avoiding the need for an invasive procedure.
To help tackle waiting lists, including in gynaecology and endometriosis related surgery the Government plans to spend more than £8 billion over the next three years, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available to systems last year to drive up elective activity and tackle long waiting lists. The Government is investing an additional £3.3 billion in each of 2023/24 and 2024/25 to support the National Health Service in England, enabling rapid action to improve emergency, elective and primary care performance towards pre-pandemic levels.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department is providing to women with ovarian cysts.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Patient-facing information on causes, diagnosis and treatment for ovarian cysts is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ovarian-cyst/
Most ovarian cysts occur naturally and go away in a few months without needing any treatment. Diagnosis of ovarian cysts is usually via ultrasound scan. If cysts are found, management or treatment would be determined by the features of the cysts.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help improve the information and resources on menstrual health conditions provided to primary healthcare professionals to help diagnosis and referrals to specialist treatment.
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 to improve healthcare professional education and training on women’s health, including working alongside the Women's Health Ambassador, education institutions, professional bodies and other stakeholders to improve education and training.
There are a number of resources available to healthcare professionals in primary care. For example, the Royal College of General Practitioners has developed a Women’s Health toolkit which aims to support practising general practitioners (GPs). This resource is continually updated to ensure GPs have the most up-to-date advice to provide the best care for their patients. The Royal College of Nursing has also produced a women’s health pocket guide for nurses and midwives working with women. New credentials focused on women’s health have already been piloted or are in development. This will standardise and improve training in these areas of women’s health.
The National Institute for Care and Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for providing authoritative, evidence-based guidance for healthcare professionals to drive best practice in the National Health Service. NICE is currently updating its guidelines on endometriosis and menopause, and the development of a guideline on polycystic ovary syndrome is being considered through the established topic selection process.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with his Cabinet colleagues to press for greater resources to allow full and timely access to medical services and reviews in Northern Ireland for women and girls suffering from (a) endometriosis, (b) polycystic ovary syndrome and (c) other gynaecological issues.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
This is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Department of Health in Northern Ireland to respond to. In the absence of Northern Ireland Executive ministers, the Northern Ireland Act 2022 provides Northern Ireland civil servants with the clarity they require to take the limited but necessary decisions to maintain delivery of public services and operate in the public interest.
The United Kingdom Government’s commitment remains absolutely clear that the restoration of the devolved institutions is an utmost priority so that important decisions, including those within the health and social care sector can be taken by locally elected Ministers.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of waiting times for the diagnosis of endometriosis.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No formal assessment has been made from the Department. Gynaecology waiting lists in England, numbers of women waiting and their waiting times are tracked and managed as part of the overall National Health Service focus on reducing the amount of time patients are waiting for elective care.
Patients with symptoms of endometriosis will be prioritised based on clinical need. The NHS-led Provider Collaborative has identified endometriosis as a priority area and recently established a group to develop further initiatives to reduce waiting times for endometriosis patients.
To help tackle waiting lists, including in gynaecology and endometriosis related surgery the Government plans to spend more than £8 billion over the next three years, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available to systems last year to drive up elective activity and tackle long waiting lists. The Government is investing an additional £3.3 billion in each of 2023/24 and 2024/25 to support the NHS in England, enabling rapid action to improve emergency, elective and primary care performance towards pre-pandemic levels.
Taken together, this funding could deliver the equivalent of nine million more checks, scans and procedures and will mean the NHS in England can aim to deliver around 30% more elective activity by 2024/25 than it was before the pandemic.
The Government and NHS have published a delivery plan setting out how this funding will be used to recover from the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic and transform how planned services are delivered for the long-term benefit of all patients, including women.
The Elective Recovery plan set out NHS England’s ambition to deliver 130% of pre-elective activity by 2024/25. Bringing more community diagnostic centres and surgical hubs on stream are key to delivering more activity, both are part of the ‘Getting it Right First Time’ High-Volume Low-Complexity programme which can provide faster access to care and reduce waiting times including gynaecological procedures such as endometriosis related surgery.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate has he made of the current average waiting time between a patient reporting symptoms and a diagnosis of endometriosis.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No formal assessment has been made from the Department. Gynaecology waiting lists in England, numbers of women waiting and their waiting times are tracked and managed as part of the overall National Health Service focus on reducing the amount of time patients are waiting for elective care.
Patients with symptoms of endometriosis will be prioritised based on clinical need. The NHS-led Provider Collaborative has identified endometriosis as a priority area and recently established a group to develop further initiatives to reduce waiting times for endometriosis patients.
To help tackle waiting lists, including in gynaecology and endometriosis related surgery the Government plans to spend more than £8 billion over the next three years, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available to systems last year to drive up elective activity and tackle long waiting lists. The Government is investing an additional £3.3 billion in each of 2023/24 and 2024/25 to support the NHS in England, enabling rapid action to improve emergency, elective and primary care performance towards pre-pandemic levels.
Taken together, this funding could deliver the equivalent of nine million more checks, scans and procedures and will mean the NHS in England can aim to deliver around 30% more elective activity by 2024/25 than it was before the pandemic.
The Government and NHS have published a delivery plan setting out how this funding will be used to recover from the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic and transform how planned services are delivered for the long-term benefit of all patients, including women.
The Elective Recovery plan set out NHS England’s ambition to deliver 130% of pre-elective activity by 2024/25. Bringing more community diagnostic centres and surgical hubs on stream are key to delivering more activity, both are part of the ‘Getting it Right First Time’ High-Volume Low-Complexity programme which can provide faster access to care and reduce waiting times including gynaecological procedures such as endometriosis related surgery.