‘I endured debilitating pain sat on a gynaecology waiting list for years’ (24 July 2024)

Summary

Michelle Heffer first started seeing her GP for very heavy periods as a teenager. After having her first ultrasound in 2020, she was diagnosed with two cysts on her ovaries caused by endometriosis. In this Independent article, she tells journalist Maya Oppenheim about the impact of having to wait over three years for surgery to deal with her endometriosis, during which time her condition worsened. Michelle had to give up her job and was at times unable to leave the house because the pain was so debilitating.

The article also looks at a new report by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has found gynaecology waiting lists in England have grown more quickly than any other elective specialty and are now over twice the size they were before the Covid-19 pandemic.