Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 17
17
Accepted
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Enforce informed consent and halt painful gynaecological procedures lacking adequate pain relief.
Conclusion
The NHS must do more to monitor and enforce protocols governing procedures such hysteroscopy, IUD fitting and cervical screening and ensure that they are underpinned by informed consent and are trauma-informed. A risk assessment that allows a patient to make an informed choice on the recommended procedure should be undertaken as standard, taking account of any previous history of undergoing related procedures. This should also include consideration of the patient’s mental and physical preparedness for a penetrative procedure, particularly in cases where the individual has not had or recently had penetrative sex. The full range of options on pain relief, including anaesthesia, should be considered and a clear commitment made that if the level of pain during the procedure is unbearable, that procedure will be halted and a separate appointment will be made. As membership bodies, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of General Practitioners should be doing far more to ensure their members adhere to guidelines and best practice.
Government Response Summary
The government commits to NHS England publishing a suite of adult and children's elective performance metrics, long waits, and waiting times data in an accessible format by March 2027. It will also increase the availability of elective, cancer, and outpatient data and expand diagnostic coding in elective care.
Paragraph Reference:
80
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
We agree with the importance of robust data collection that supports analysis to help identify where and what interventions are most appropriate. NHS England’s plan on reforming elective care for patients (linked in ‘Introduction’ above) is clear that transparency is vital to help patients understand how their local and national health services are performing. It sets out that NHS England will publish a suite of adult’s and children’s elective performance metrics (including 18-week performance, long waits and waiting times) in an accessible format, which can be ranked and used by both NHS staff and the public. NHS England will also publish data that can be ranked on all aspects of choice. This will sit alongside, and make use of, published information on NHS England’s website and will be available on the NHS App. NHS England also commits to: increasing the availability and use of elective, cancer and outpatient data improving our understanding of clinical conditions by expanding diagnostic coding in elective care The expectation is that this will be standard practice in acute providers by March 2027. Patient experiences more broadly are routinely collected for people attending healthcare services through the Friends and Family Test (linked in the government response to ‘Recommendation 11’ in ‘Accessing treatment and support’ above).