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 recent estimate he has made of the average waiting time for a consultancy appointment for women suffering with (a) polycystic ovary syndrome and (b) endometriosis.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No specific estimate has been made.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of endometriosis care in England; and what steps his Department plans to take to improve care for people endometriosis that is not classified as severe by NHS England.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No specific assessment has been made. On 3 November 2022, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) confirmed it will update sections in its guideline on diagnosing endometriosis, surgical management and surgical management if fertility is a priority. NICE will also explore the topic of mental wellbeing and support for those with suspected or confirmed endometriosis during the scoping of the update. Whilst NICE guidelines are not mandatory, it provides best practice and we expect healthcare professionals to take this into account in the treatment of patients.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has taken recent steps to help improve the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of (i) polycystic ovary syndrome and (ii) endometriosis.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
In 2022, we published the Women’s Health Strategy for England, which identified gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), as a priority.
We have allocated £2.3 billion to establish up to 160 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) by 2024/25 to reduce waiting times for diagnostic tests, such as ultrasound for those with suspected PCOS. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is considering the development of a guideline on PCOS. NICE’s guidelines set out evidence-based recommendations, including on the diagnosis and management of conditions, to improve the quality of care. We expect healthcare professionals and commissioners to take these guidelines into account in the treatment of patients.
We are also increasing activity through dedicated surgical hubs for planned procedures, focusing on providing high-volume low-complexity surgery, such as laparoscopies for suspected endometriosis. NICE recently conducted a surveillance review of its endometriosis guideline. On 3 November 2022, NICE confirmed that it will update the sections on diagnosing endometriosis, surgical management and surgical management, if fertility is a priority. NICE will also explore mental wellbeing and support for those with suspected or confirmed endometriosis during the scoping of the update. The expected publication date of the updated guideline will be available in due course. NHS England is also reviewing the service specification for severe endometriosis, including care pathways for thoracic endometriosis and expects to report on the outcome in 2023. This will ensure that specialist endometriosis services have access to the most recent evidence and advice and improve standards of care.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many children have been prescribed puberty blockers in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists or ‘puberty blockers’ are used to treat several medical conditions in children and young people. These 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 where gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists for all purposes for children aged under 18 years old has been prescribed and dispensed in primary and secondary care prescribing and dispensing in the community in England in each year from 2015/16 to September 2022. Data is not held prior to April 2015.
Financial year | Patients identified |
2015/2016 | 885 |
2016/2017 | 987 |
2017/2018 | 1,047 |
2018/2019 | 1,072 |
2019/2020 | 1,048 |
2020/2021 | 936 |
2021/2022 | 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.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment tools his Department has in place to analyse the impact on those with endometriosis.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The impact of endometriosis on individuals is assessed by clinicians. The call for evidence for the Women’s Health Strategy sought information on gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis. This informed the development of the Strategy, which has prioritised menstrual health and gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
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 ensure implementation of NICE Guideline (73) Endometriosis: diagnosis and management; and if he will commission an analysis of the provision of and barriers to endometriosis care.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
On 3 November 2022, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) confirmed that it will update sections in its guideline on diagnosing endometriosis, surgical management and surgical management, if fertility is a priority. We will work with NICE on its five-year strategy to ensure that guidelines can be implemented and are accessible to healthcare professionals and commissioners of local services. NICE’s guidelines describe best practice, which healthcare professionals are expected to take into account in the care and treatment of patients. However, these guidelines are not mandatory and do not override a clinician’s responsibility to make appropriate decisions for individual patients.
There are no current plans to commission a specific analysis. The call for evidence for the Women’s Health Strategy sought information on gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis. This information was considered in the development of the Strategy.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
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 timeline for the start and anticipated finish date for the review into NICE guidelines on diagnosis and management of Endometriosis.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recently conducted a surveillance review of its endometriosis guideline. On 3 November 2022, NICE confirmed that it will update the sections on diagnosing endometriosis, surgical management and surgical management, if fertility is a priority. NICE will also explore mental wellbeing and support for those with suspected or confirmed endometriosis during scoping of the update. The expected publication date of the updated guideline will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
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 reduce the number of women waiting to access essential gynaecological care.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ sets out how the National Health Service will recover and expand elective services over the next three years, including in gynaecological services. We have allocated more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available in 2021/2022 to increase elective activity. This funding aims to deliver the equivalent of approximately nine million additional checks and procedures and 30% further elective activity by 2024/25 than pre-pandemic levels. A proportion of this funding will be invested in workforce capacity and training and we have committed to invest £5.9 billion for new beds, equipment and technology.
Community diagnostic centres and surgical hubs will deliver additional activity, including gynaecological services. The Getting it Right First Time high-volume low-complexity programme aims to accelerate access to care and reduce waiting times, including endometriosis related surgery.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
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 reduce waiting times for endometriosis-related surgery.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ sets out how the National Health Service will recover and expand elective services over the next three years, including in gynaecological services. We have allocated more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available in 2021/2022 to increase elective activity. This funding aims to deliver the equivalent of approximately nine million additional checks and procedures and 30% further elective activity by 2024/25 than pre-pandemic levels. A proportion of this funding will be invested in workforce capacity and training and we have committed to invest £5.9 billion for new beds, equipment and technology.
Community diagnostic centres and surgical hubs will deliver additional activity, including gynaecological services. The Getting it Right First Time high-volume low-complexity programme aims to accelerate access to care and reduce waiting times, including endometriosis related surgery.
Asked by: David Warburton (Independent - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the level of support provided by his Department to 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. However, NHS England is reviewing the service specification for severe endometriosis and will report in 2023. This will ensure that specialist endometriosis services have access to current evidence and advice to improve standards of care.
On 3 November 2022, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) confirmed it will update its guidelines on diagnosing endometriosis and surgical management if fertility is a priority. NICE will also explore mental wellbeing and support for people with suspected or confirmed endometriosis during the scoping of the update. The publication date of the updated guideline will be available in due course.