Recommendation 24

NHS England should cease to use the term benign in relation to reproductive ill health. The NHS should work with stakeholders to develop a way to describe these conditions that more accurately reflects the serious impact they can have on people’s lives. This should include a wider discussion about what treatments take precedence for surgery and the steps necessary to ensure that chronic conditions primarily affecting women, such as endometriosis, are appropriately prioritised. This re-prioritisation is required to address the fact that gynaecology waiting lists have grown at a faster pace than any other specialty since the pandemic.