Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 48
48
Deferred
Paragraph: 181
Update Women's Health Strategy to prioritise specific conditions and reduce endometriosis diagnosis waiting times.
Recommendation
The Women’s Health Strategy for England should be updated to include priorities for specific, common conditions. We recommend the Government commits to reducing waiting times for an endometriosis diagnosis to less than two years by the end of this Parliament and to improved understanding, diagnosis and treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding over the same period.
Government Response Summary
The government recognises the impact of long wait times for gynaecological conditions and states it is working on taking forward the Women's Health Strategy, considering the committee's recommendations on specific areas of focus. It also refers to previous responses on measuring improvements in diagnosis times.
Paragraph Reference:
181
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
This government recognises that women suffering with gynaecological conditions have been failed for far too long, and we acknowledge the impact that long wait times for diagnosis and treatment for conditions such as endometriosis have had on women’s lives, relationships, and participation in education and the workforce. We are working with NHS England and the Women’s Health Ambassador on how government will take forward the Women's Health Strategy for England (linked in 'Introduction' above) by aligning it to the missions and forthcoming 10 Year Health Plan. We will take into account the committee’s recommendations on specific areas of focus as we do this. Our previous response to 'Recommendation 6' (see ‘Accessing a diagnosis’ above) also sets out further detail on measuring and monitoring improvements in diagnosis times for conditions such as endometriosis.