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Found 68 results
  1. News Article
    A non-invasive scan for endometriosis has shown promising results in a trial, boosting hopes for far quicker diagnosis. The trial, which included 19 women with the condition, suggests that an experimental radiotracer, called maraciclatide, can “light up” endometriosis on a scan. The current need for a surgical investigation is seen as a major obstacle to timely diagnosis, with women in England typically waiting nearly a decade. Prof Krina Zondervan, head of department at the Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health (NDWRH) at the University of Oxford, and co-lead on the study, said: “The most prevalent subtype of endometriosis currently evades reliable detection, leaving women no choice for diagnosis other than invasive surgery. If these results are confirmed in larger phase 3 studies, imaging with maraciclatide could transform clinical research and practice and potentially empower the development of treatments for women across the globe.” Research by the charity Endometriosis UK suggests women in England currently wait an average of 9 years 4 months – rising to 11 years for women from ethnic minority communities. Wes Streeting, the health secretary, highlighted the problem in the government’s renewed Women’s Health Strategy, earlier this month. Endometriosis can progress, leading to more severe physical symptoms and restricting the ability to make informed choices around fertility. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 29 April 2026
  2. News Article
    Amy-Jane Davies is on six NHS waiting lists and says constantly chasing for updates is taking over her life. She's waited 21 months for gynaecological surgery, which she said will likely result in her being referred for a more specialist operation - meaning another waiting list. Amy-Jane, who has endometriosis, is one of 43,120 on a gynaecology waiting list in Wales and one of 687,958 waiting for any type of treatment. She said her condition had affected her life in ways she "didn't imagine", from reducing her hours at work to deciding not to become a mother. With the Senedd election in Wales on 7 May, NHS waiting times are one of the challenges facing the next Welsh government. Amy-Jane, 30, from south Wales, was first diagnosed with endometriosis in 2018, a condition where cells similar to those in the lining of the womb grow in other parts of the body. Her symptoms range from abdominal cramping and severe bloating to migraines, fatigue, as well as bladder and bowel problems. "During Covid, the gynaecology waiting lists grew to eight to 10 years and at that point I knew there was just no way I could wait that long to get something done," she said. In 2021, Amy-Jane paid £4,000 for private surgery with help from her mum and nan.
  3. News Article
    "It's barbaric. That's how bad the pain is, It's absolutely barbaric." A woman who waited 30 years to be diagnosed with endometriosis describes how she struggles in pain. Nichola Howells from Manchester started experiencing extremely heavy periods at the age of 14 but spent decades being "dismissed" by doctors and even gynecologists. The 47-year-old said it meant that by the time she was diagnosed she was "literally riddled" with the disease. Nichola is not alone, with many other women reporting they were not taken seriously by health professionals. The Department of Health and Social Care said it was trying to change things by investing in training and women's health hubs, adding that "waiting decades for an endometriosis diagnosis is unacceptable". In the UK, one in 10 women have endometriosis, according to the World Health Organisation. The average waiting time for a diagnosis has now reached nine years and four months, according to a new report by the charity Endometriosis UK. Nichola, who grew up in London, started taking contraception to try and manage the bleeding but as time went on her symptoms got worse. She said she was ignored or dismissed by health professionals, with one doctor telling her to "rid herself of her crippled mentality". By the time she was diagnosed, she had reached stage 4, with deep infiltrating endometriosis spread across her ligaments, intestine, pelvis, ovaries and uterus. She said: "Three decades is absolutely insane, to the point where I am literally riddled with endometriosis." Read full story Source: BBC News, 23 March 2026
  4. Content Article
    A new report, jointly produced by charities Cysters and Endometriosis UK, sheds light on the biases and inequalities faced by endometriosis patients from ethnically diverse communities. The report reveals that patients from these communities are waiting more than 16% (1 year and 8 months) longer than the UK average waiting time for an endometriosis diagnosis time. The report draws on findings from more than 500 people from ethnically diverse communities living with endometriosis, as well as ten supplementary interviews. Findings: People from ethnically diverse communities wait, on average, 11 years for an endometriosis diagnosis in the UK. This is compared to the UK-wide average diagnosis time of 9 years and 4 months. Patients from ethnically diverse backgrounds wait more than twice as long (4 years) between seeing a gynaecologist and being diagnosed with endometriosis as the UK-wide average (1 year and 10 months). This is despite going to their GP sooner after first noticing symptoms, and waiting less time to see a gynaecologist. More than two thirds (68%) believed their ethnicity either played a role in their diagnosis, proved a barrier to diagnosis, or was the subject of assumptions made by healthcare practitioners. Just 11% believed healthcare providers are culturally sensitive.
  5. Content Article
    More information about "The state of endometriosis care in the UK: A roadmap for driving down diagnosis times and improving access to care (2 March 2026)"
    New data released by Endometriosis UK has revealed that the average time to receive a diagnosis of endometriosis in the UK has now reached 9 years and 4 months. Alarmingly, this figure has increased from an average of 8 years reported in 2020. The findings, from a survey by Endometriosis UK, highlight the struggles of individuals seeking diagnosis and management to help reduce the severity of symptoms: 39% of respondents reported needing to visit their GP 10 times or more before endometriosis was suspected. Additionally, 55% of respondents attended A&E with their symptoms, but 46% of these were sent home without treatment. Endometriosis is a long-term (chronic) condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows elsewhere in the body. It's common, affecting 1 in 10 women. Symptoms vary from person to person and can be severe and debilitating. Common symptoms include; pelvic pain, painful periods that interfere with everyday life, heavy menstrual bleeding and pain during or after sex. Around 1.5 million women in the UK are currently living with endometriosis. Emma Cox, CEO of Endometriosis UK, said: “It is unacceptable that those living with endometriosis have to endure years of pain and uncertainty before receiving a diagnosis. Our findings underscore the urgent need not only for increased awareness and understanding of endometriosis and menstrual health among healthcare providers, but for this to be translated into action, with appropriate levels of resources allocated by the NHS to overcome far too long waiting lists and enable access to care where and when it’s needed. “Endometriosis care has been neglected for too long and the situation is getting worse. Governments across the UK must treat endometriosis as a common, chronic condition that requires systematic action and we want an unequivocal commitment to reduce average diagnosis time to one year or less by 2030.” Bethany Backhouse, age 28 from Stoke on Trent, was diagnosed with endometriosis in 2017. She said: "For a long time I was told I was too young to have endometriosis, I was told that my symptoms were just 'painful periods' despite passing out at school due to the pain. It took about six years for me to get a diagnosis and it has had a huge impact on my education, my mental health and my life. I've had to go through medical menopause which was extremely difficult and I'm still experiencing the symptoms. I've had surgery but unfortunately the endometriosis has returned and I'm now on the waiting list for another operation."
  6. News Article
    A new at-home treatment option offers hope for women suffering from endometriosis. The NHS has approved linzagolix, also known as Yselty, a once-daily pill designed to alleviate the debilitating symptoms of the condition. Endometriosis affects an estimated 1.5 million women in the UK, causing tissue similar to the womb lining to grow elsewhere in the body. This can lead to a range of painful and disruptive symptoms, including severe pelvic pain, heavy periods, exhaustion, and fertility problems. The current diagnostic process can be lengthy, with NICE reporting an average nine-year delay between the onset of symptoms and diagnosis. Linzagolix offers a new approach to managing endometriosis by blocking specific hormones that contribute to the condition's symptoms. This new oral medication is expected to benefit up to 1,000 women annually, providing a more convenient and accessible treatment option. Read full story Source: The Independent, 1 May 2025
  7. News Article
    After seven years of doctors discounting my symptoms, Ellie Tutt joined the end of a fifty-five-week-long waiting list to find out whether she had endometriosis. About 1.5 million women in the UK, external are thought to have the condition, which causes pain and extreme tiredness as a result of tissue similar to the womb lining growing elsewhere in the body. But for many of these women, it is taking a long time to get a diagnosis. Endometriosis can cause chronic pain, heavy bleeding and, if untreated, organ damage, external and infertility. Despite this, Dr Kate Dyerson, a GP from Berkshire, said it was taking some women four or five trips to their doctor before they were taken seriously. She said: "I think there's a degree of ignorance among the medical profession as to how many women are affected." Women's medical problems had long been dismissed, she said, adding many doctors would assume a teenager was just adjusting to period pains. "I don't think it's sexist so much, I think it's that inbuilt sense that women have periods, periods are unpleasant, we don't want to talk about them, and if they hurt, well, take your pain elsewhere." Dr Dyerson said it took an average of eight years for women to get a diagnosis and felt GPs needed to get better at making referrals. Read full story Source: BBC News, 16 April 2025
  8. News Article
    People from across the UK have shared their heartbreaking experiences of living with endometriosis - as they say the NHS is “failing” them. Living with the inflammatory condition is an uphill battle, from getting a diagnosis to navigating daily life and even accessing healthcare. For Endometriosis Awareness Month, National World launched the campaign Endo the Battle to amplify the voices of those living with endometriosis across the UK and highlight the challenges patients face. This campaign surveyed members of the public to share their stories with endometriosis. They received almost 400 responses, highlighting delays in getting a diagnosis, the crippling costs of paying for private care and knowledge gaps within the healthcare sector. Read full story Source: The Scotsman, 11 April 2025
  9. News Article
    A new daily pill that could transform the way endometriosis is treated has been approved for use on the NHS across England, the medicines watchdog has announced. About 1,000 women a year living with endometriosis will be able to access relugolix-estradiol-norethisterone. The “first-of-a-kind” treatment, which was initially rejected by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), works by blocking the specific hormones that contribute to endometriosis while providing necessary hormone replacement. The medication eliminates the need for multiple medications and regular trips to clinics for injections. Unlike current injectable treatments which can initially worsen symptoms, the pill can be taken at home, works more quickly and combines hormones in one pill. Endometriosis care has also long been recognised as substandard, with a previous report finding that on average women are waiting nearly nine years for a diagnosis in the UK. A spokesperson for Endometriosis UK welcomed the decision by Nice, adding: “Endometriosis UK believes that women and those assigned female at birth in the UK should be able to choose the right treatment and management options for them. “We recommend that treatment decisions are always made in partnership with the individual and their medical practitioner. There are far too few options available due to the historic lack of research into endometriosis.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 13 March 2025
  10. Event
    Endometriosis, fibroids, heavy menstrual bleeding and other gynaecological conditions are a huge burden to women across the world. They cause preventable suffering and impair quality of life. These conditions can continue for many years. Women therefore need to understand the long-term effects of treatments, and how treatments compare with each other. Despite this, information is limited. Join this NIHR webinar to hear much-needed evidence on this topic. The findings will allow clinicians to discuss the long-term benefits and risks of each treatment with women, and help women decide on the treatments that are best for them. Presentations will be followed by a Q&A session. This 1-hour, online webinar will cover: How do treatments for heavy periods compare after 10 years? Which hormonal treatment best prevents pain 3 years after endometriosis surgery? Which fibroid procedure has better outcomes after 4 years? Presenters include: Jane Daniels, Professor of Clinical Trials, University of Nottingham Justin Clark, Consultant Gynaecologist, Birmingham Women's Hospital & Honorary Professor, University of Birmingham Register
  11. News Article
    The wait to be diagnosed with endometriosis has increased to almost ten years, a "devastating" milestone say women with the condition. It now takes almost a year more than before 2020 to be diagnosed, according to research published by Endometriosis UK, which is setting up new volunteer-led support groups in Wales. The wait in Wales is also the longest in the UK, the research found. The Welsh government said it knew there was "room for improvement". "Nobody listened to me, and to feel like women are still going through that 20 years after my diagnosis is horrific," said Michelle Bates. The 48-year old from Cardiff was diagnosed aged 25 after suffering with "harrowing" pain from age 13 onwards - a 12-year wait. "I went back and forth to the GP with my mum, who was the only one who believed in my pain," she said. The study by Endometriosis UK, which is based on a survey of 4,371 people who received a diagnosis of endometriosis, showed almost half of all respondents (47%) had visited their GP 10 or more times with symptoms prior to receiving a diagnosis, and 70% had visited five times or more. It also found 78% of people who later went on to receive a diagnosis of endometriosis - up from 69% in 2020 - were told by doctors they were making a "fuss about nothing", or comments to that effect. Read full story Source: BBC News, 18 March 2024
  12. News Article
    Women are waiting nearly nine years for an endometriosis diagnosis in the UK, according to research that found health professionals often minimise or dismiss symptoms. The study by the charity Endometriosis UK suggests waiting times for a diagnosis have significantly deteriorated in the past three years, increasing to an average of eight years and 10 months, up 10 months since 2020. In Scotland, the average diagnosis time has increased by four months. The report, based on a survey of 4,371 people who have received a diagnosis, shows that 47% of respondents had visited their GP 10 or more times with symptoms before being diagnosed, and 70% had visited five times or more. The chief executive of Endometriosis UK, Emma Cox, said: “Taking almost nine years to get a diagnosis of endometriosis is unacceptable. Our finding that it now takes even longer to get a diagnosis of endometriosis must be a wake-up call to decision-makers to stop minimising or ignoring the significant impact endometriosis can have on both physical and mental health.” The report includes examples of patients’ experiences, with many being told that their pain was “normal”. One said: “I was constantly dismissed, ignored and belittled by medical professionals telling me that my symptoms were simply due to stress and tiredness. I persevered for over 10 years desperate for help.” Another said she had been told she was “being dramatic” after going to her GP as a teenager with painful periods. Another said: “A&E nurses told me that everyone has period pain so take paracetamol and go home.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 4 March 2024
  13. News Article
    Women with endometriosis who have endured years of excruciating pain are being “fobbed off” by doctors and told their symptoms are “all in their head”, leading them to give up seeking NHS treatment, new research has found. A study carried out by academics at Manchester Metropolitan University found women with the disease felt “gaslit” by doctors due to their lack of understanding of the condition. The paper, due to be published in the Journal of Health Communication later this month, also found that treatment was subject to a postcode lottery. Patients in rural areas reported travelling for hours to access a specialist with full training in the complex gynaecological condition. Endometriosis is a painful condition in which tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows around other organs inside the abdomen. It affects 1.5 million women in the UK. The study looked at the experiences of treatment and diagnosis of 33 patients and revealed how doctors’ lack of understanding of the symptoms meant women often spent years in pain before their condition was diagnosed. During this period participants were told they were exaggerating their symptoms, or their pain was dismissed as psychological. As one 27-year-old participant reported: “I feel a lot of mistrust towards the healthcare system in general, simply because I have been told that the pain was in my head, that I must have a low pain threshold or that I was in pain because I was fat.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 21 January 2024 Share your experience of endometriosis: The Guardian newspaper would like to hear how you have been affected by endometriosis and your experience of being diagnosed and treated.
  14. Event
    until
    The Everywoman festival is a one day event aimed at all women over the age of 16 and aims to empower women to understand what is normal and when to seek help for issues that can affect 90% of women at some point in their life. The festival combines more than 40 workshops and 6 themed seminar sessions with a fun, relaxed environment with art workshops, food and drink, music and charity stands. Themes are wide ranging and include periods and endometriosis, pelvis pain and bladder, childbirth injury, menopause and sexual wellbeing. Additional drop in sessions to meet the consultant experts as well as book readings and signings will be available on the day. The Everywoman Festival will be held in the heart of Cardiff in the beautiful venue of Insole Court. It will feature a range of interactive workshops and talks from leading health experts. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about everything from nutrition and fitness to mindfulness through art. For those who are looking for something a little more active, there will be a variety of fitness classes and workshops taking place throughout the day. From seated yoga, Pilates to Belly dancing and dancing lessons from Heels empowerment, there's something for everyone, regardless of their fitness level. Charities attending with stalls and information include Coppa feel, Endometriosis UK, Womens Aid, the Menstrual project and Fair Treatment for Women of Wales. Health stalls from Muslim Doctors Cymru, Medtronic, Mcgregor, THD will be on hand to provide information and signpost for everything from your bladder and bowels, childbirth to high blood pressure. Some of the highlights of the festival are the wellness market, where attendees can shop for a wide variety of health and wellness products and in the creative market products from artists such as Black and Beech, Melin Trygwynt and Eliza Eliza. Further tickets and information Follow on instagram @Theeverywomanfestival A5leaflet Everywoman (2).pdf
  15. Event
    Join the British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy for an endometriosis Q&A session with experts from across the UK. Hosted by Carla Cressy, questions can be put to the panel via the @theBSGE instagram page and the Endometriosis Foundation website. It will cover a wide range of topics from diagnosis to fertility to thoracic and adolescent endometriosis. Register
  16. News Article
    Living with seizures and crippling pain, Zara Corbett says she's "begging for help" as she copes with endometriosis. The 21-year-old told BBC News NI that if she had any other condition she would be receiving help. "With gynae problems, particularly endometriosis, you are left waiting for years." "Women should not be left suffering this pain, it's not good enough," the beautician said. Zara has been put into early menopause - which is one potential treatment for endometriosis. The County Down woman said Northern Ireland needed a dedicated centre to provide specialist support. "I am begging for help from medical professionals including support from a multi-agency network because we are at our wits end - life cannot go on like this," she said. Endometriosis UK, an organisation that helps women with the condition, said it was shocked and saddened that it does not see "good, prompt care" in Northern Ireland. Its chief executive, Emma Cox, who visited Belfast in May, said services in Northern Ireland were "lagging behind" the rest of the UK. "We hear of the very long waiting lists to access gynaecologists to get a diagnosis but also waiting lists to access surgeons, it's about the disease being taken seriously," Ms Cox said. Read full story Source: BBC News, 6 December 2023
  17. News Article
    In ‘Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed For Men’ author Caroline Criado Perez writes about Rachael, a woman who suffered years of severe and incapacitating pain during her period. It takes, on average, eight years for women in the UK to obtain a diagnoses of endometriosis. In fact, for over a decade, there has been no improvement in diagnostic times for women living with the debilitating condition. You might think, given the difficulty so many women experience in having their symptoms translated into a diagnosis, that endometriosis is a rare condition that doctors perhaps don’t encounter all that often. Yet it is something that affects one in ten women – so what is going wrong? Read the full article here in The Scotsman
  18. News Article
    Endometriosis care across the UK needs urgent improvement and diagnosis times need to be cut in half, a report by MPs says. It found an average wait for a diagnosis was eight years and that has not improved in more than a decade. Endometriosis affects one in 10 women in the UK and causes debilitating pain, very heavy periods and infertility. Nadine Dorries, minister for women's health, said awareness was increasing but there was still a long way to go. More than 10,000 people took part in the All-Party Political Group inquiry which found that 58% of people visited the GP more than 10 times before diagnosis and 53% went to A&E with symptoms before diagnosis. The majority of people also told MPs their mental health, education and careers had been damaged by the condition. About 90% said they would have liked access to psychological support but were never offered it, with 35% having a reduced income due to endometriosis. Helen-Marie Brewster, 28, from Hull, has been told by doctors that her only remaining treatment option is a full hysterectomy. She had symptoms throughout secondary school but was only diagnosed when she left education. "GPs ask me to explain to them what endometriosis is, because they don't know. They're the ones who are meant to help." "Last year I visited the A&E department 17 times trying to find help and pain relief for this condition, even for just a few days so I can keep going. The wait time for diagnosis is so long that in that time it's spreading and doing more damage the longer it is left untreated... We can't carry on like this." Read full story Source: BBC News, 19 October 2020 Read press release
  19. News Article
    There has been "little progress" in improving the experiences of people living with endometriosis in the past 25 years, according to Leeds researchers. Endometriosis is a disease in which tissue like that in the lining of the womb grows elsewhere in the body, causing debilitating pain. Endometriosis UK and researchers at Leeds Beckett University (LBU) surveyed 1,800 patients, with many saying they felt "powerless" over their illness. Lead researcher Prof Georgina Jones said the results were "troubling", and showed how living with endometriosis could "fundamentally impact a person’s sense of identity and place in the world". She said: "We asked respondents to provide some words summarising their experience of endometriosis. "While most of these were negative, for example, they described the debilitating pain, the frustration and loneliness they feel, a number described the sense of community felt by those living with the disease. "This underlines how important peer support, both informally and in the way organised by Endometriosis UK, is to those with endometriosis." Read full story Source: BBC News, 20 September 2024
  20. News Article
    A woman with endometriosis was “gaslighted” by doctors over severe period pain for more than a decade and told by one doctor “It’s not as though you’re dying” after suffering a miscarriage. Jenny Ockona-Mensah, has spent decades being “fobbed off” by NHS services over “consuming” period pain and was just 20 years old when doctors suggested her only options were to get pregnant or go on the pill. The London therapist’s story comes as the organisers of a poll warned women are being treated as “second class” citizens by the NHS. A poll of 2,000 women found more than a third have been forced to take time off work due to gynaecological conditions. Of those, more than 41% were off work for three months. The findings indicated 42% cent of women who suffer pain that impacts their daily lives said the NHS does not provide adequate pain management. Praful Nargund, Labour councillor and trustee for Create Health Foundation, which carried out the survey, told The Independent: “The scale of this problem is staggering. It’s unacceptable. “I’m both astonished and terrified at the same time, astonished that in 2024 we accept this level of problem for 51 per cent of the population and terrified because of what this means for my wife, for my two young daughters, for my mum. You know that they will have a worse experience of healthcare throughout their life, the way women’s health services are at the moment.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 10 October 2024
  21. News Article
    Lisa Hague, 38, was diagnosed with endometriosis at the age of 17 after being in such severe pain that she resorted to taking a powerful painkiller, dihydrocodeine, that had been prescribed to her partner for a sports injury. She had an allergic reaction to the codeine and was taken to hospital. After speaking to a doctor about why she had taken such a risk, she was referred for a laparoscopy and diagnosed. “I’d never heard of endometriosis before and didn’t know anyone that had it,” she says. The diagnosis was a relief, but there were few treatment options available and she has had to manage intense pain and very heavy bleeding for a few days each month. At times, she has resorted to sitting against hot radiators or taking scalding baths to “as a distraction from the internal pain”. “It is very dismissed still at the doctors,” she says. Hague says there is a “desperate need” for better treatments so that her teenage daughter’s generation do not face the same struggle. “Things have got to have changed since I was 17,” she says. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 8 March 2023
  22. News Article
    “You’re just unlucky,” the doctor told me. Whichever GP I saw, wherever I was, male or female, I would be asked the same questions. Do you drink alcohol? Are you sexually active? Is your underwear too tight? If I heard another woman being relentlessly quizzed like that today, I’d probably call it victim blaming." "... when you’re told, over and over, that it’s just bad luck and that some women suffer more than others, you believe it. You put your trust in the professionals. You don’t advocate for yourself because you don’t understand that there’s anything that needs fighting for." Claire Cohen, 39, had spent much of her life since her mid-teens in acute pain, begging for help. Now she’s finally been diagnosed with endometriosis, she looks at how medicine is still failing to treat a condition that can have a devastating effect on one in ten women Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 13 April 2023
  23. Content Article
    Is good-quality health care being provided for women in prison? As the government proceeds with plans to build 500 more prison places for women, this new Nuffield Trust analysis uses HES data to look at women prisoners' use of hospital services, finding that they face a series of challenges and risks in prison because of barriers to accessing health and care services. Key findings Pregnant women in prison are more likely to experience preterm labour than women in the general population. There are no official data on the number of women in prison who have children. Our work can fill in some of this gap. In 2019/20, 212 women had given birth in hospital within the four years before going to prison, 109 within the two years before. Access to hospital services is poor and this is a long-term issue. Hospital data highlight the complex needs of women in prison, particularly around trauma and substance misuse. Substance misuse plays a part in a significant proportion of hospital admissions by women in prison. Women’s sexual and reproductive health care needs are not talked about openly and symptoms of normal changes to the body, such as the menopause, as well as conditions such as endometriosis, are not well understood or managed. Key recommendations Ensure women have access to good-quality, understandable and targeted health care information. Commit to better data collection to inform planning and address inequality. Better understand and address the needs of those with children as an urgent priority ahead of the new prison places. Acknowledge and address the range of reasons why hospital appointments might be missed.
  24. News Article
    Clinical care for sufferers of endometriosis is not meeting "base level", according to new research seen by BBC Scotland. The debilitating condition affects 100,000 women in Scotland and is more common than diabetes, yet it takes eight and a half years to be diagnosed. Almost half of those with endometriosis are in pain most days. The study, commissioned as part of the Scottish government's Women's Health Plan, found that services were lacking. The charity Endometriosis UK said the condition costs the UK economy £8.2bn each year in treatment, healthcare costs and loss of work. It carried out the study and has recommended four main areas for improvement: Implementing National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines and quality standards on endometriosis care across Scotland - the research found that this base level of care "is not currently being met". Building relationships between healthcare services through managed clinical networks to allow for smoother referrals. Increasing education in primary and secondary care levels - including GPs and non-specialist gynaecologists. Investment in a public health campaign and improved menstrual education in schools. Read full story Source: BBC News, 23 January 2022
  25. News Article
    An endometriosis sufferer has said her reproductive organs are so damaged by a three-year delay for surgery, it has affected her ability to have children. Claire Nicholls, 29, has been in pain for years with the condition - which involves tissue similar to the lining of the womb growing elsewhere. Ms Nicholls said she was passed from "pillar to post" and for 10 years, medical professionals did not seem to believe how much pain she was actually in. She has stage four endometriosis, which is the most severe and widespread. "The pain can be excruciating, at times I can't get out of bed and I have also had to attend the emergency department," she said. After opting to go private, her surgeon said he was unable to see many of her organs due to the amount of scarred tissue caused by the delay in surgery. "He told me the scarred tissue and adhesions were all around my organs... they couldn't remove it all as it could have damaged other organs including my bladder - it was just too severe," she said. Northern Ireland has the longest gynaecological waiting lists in the UK, according to a professional body. It is calling for two regional endometriosis centres. The report from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists found 36,900 women in Northern Ireland are on a gynaecology waiting list - a 42% increase since the start of the pandemic. Read full story Source: BBC News, 25 October 2022

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