It is unacceptable that women can wait a long time for an endometriosis diagnosis and we are committed to improving waiting times for diagnosis and treatment so patients can get the care they need sooner.

The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy commits to speeding up diagnosis and access to treatment for conditions including endometriosis.

Clinical pathways for heavy periods and pelvic pain, which can be a sign of endometriosis, will be redesigned to reduce repeat appointments, unnecessary referrals, and long waits.

This will create roadmaps for health systems to use and adapt for local needs that will enable women to move more quickly through the system and reach the level of care they need with fewer appointments. These redesigned pathways will also help systems to transform services, plan their workforce, and consider where capacity is most usefully deployed so that hospitals can provide the specialist care they are designed to, and move more care, where appropriate, into the community.

Women with endometriosis will benefit from single points of access for gynaecology referrals and a shift away from hospital-only care towards neighbourhood and community settings.

As part of the Renewed Women's Health Strategy, we also committed to publishing an equity good practice guide to enable integrated care boards (ICBs) to better understand and reduce inequalities in heavy periods. Heavy periods are a key symptom of endometriosis, and this will enable ICBs to take targeted action to improve care and reduce disparities for women experiencing heavy periods and related gynaecological conditions.

Menstrual problems, including those caused by endometriosis, are prioritised as one of the first pathways to be delivered through community-based services and the new virtual hospital, NHS Online.

NHS Online will give people on certain pathways the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home. It will connect patients with clinicians across the country through secure, online appointments accessed through the NHS App.

NHS Online will help to reduce patient waiting times, delivering the equivalent of up to 8.5 million appointments and assessments in its first three years, four times more than an average trust, while enhancing patient choice and control over their care.

The Government acknowledges the challenges faced by women with endometriosis and the impact it can have on their lives, relationships, education, and participation in the workforce. We also recognise the importance of ensuring healthcare professionals are appropriately trained and informed about women’s health conditions, including endometriosis.

The General Medical Council has introduced the Medical Licensing Assessment to encourage a better understanding of common women’s health problems among doctors as they start their careers in the United Kingdom. The content for this assessment includes topics relating to women’s health, including endometriosis.

Women’s health is also included within the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) curriculum for trainee general practitioners (GPs), including gynaecology, sexual health, and breast health. The curriculum also covers the health care needs of women across all diseases seen in primary care as it is important women are treated holistically. This ensures that all future GPs receive education on women’s health.

The RCGP has also published a Women’s Health Library which brings together educational resources and guidance on women’s health from the RCGP, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the College of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare, supporting healthcare professionals to provide up-to-date care for their patients. The RCGP has worked with partners, including Endometriosis UK, to develop educational resources relating to endometriosis to support GPs and other healthcare professionals to deliver the best possible care for women, based on the latest evidence.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has developed a women’s and reproductive health topic suite, and updated guidelines on endometriosis in 2024 to make firmer recommendations for healthcare professionals on referral and investigations for women with a suspected diagnosis. These clinical guidelines support healthcare professionals in providing care for women with endometriosis.

Generally, employers in the health system are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to the required standards to deliver appropriate treatment for patients.

The average wait for an endometriosis diagnosis is more than nine years, often because women and girls are not listened to when they experience really painful periods. My constituent Insha waited for over a decade, only to be told that she could face a three-year wait for specialist surgery. What plans do the Government have to reduce diagnosis times, provide better training for GPs and improve access to specialist endometriosis care for all women and girls in North Warwickshire and Bedworth?

Women have been dismissed for far too long, and that must change. The renewed women’s health strategy commits to redesigning clinical pathways for heavy periods and pelvic pain in order to reduce repeat appointments, unnecessary referrals and long waits. Menstrual problems, including endometriosis, will be prioritised through NHS Online in 2027, which will give people across the country the choice of getting the specialist care they need from home.

The Government acknowledges the challenges faced by women with endometriosis and the impact it has on their lives, their relationships, and their participation in education and the workforce. We are committed to improving the diagnosis, treatment, and care for those with endometriosis.

We welcome the report published by Endometriosis UK The State of Endometriosis Care in the UK earlier this year which published concerning findings about endometriosis diagnosis times. It is unacceptable that women can wait so long for an endometriosis diagnosis, and we are taking action to address this.

Endometriosis is identified as a priority condition in the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy, where women experience unacceptably long delays to diagnosis, pain being dismissed, and fragmented care. The strategy announces a new programme to improve education for girls about their menstrual health, investing an additional £1 million to support targeted work in schools and community settings to support girls’ knowledge about menstrual health and when to seek healthcare. This is an important factor in delays in diagnosis and treatment for endometriosis.

Clinical pathways for heavy periods and pelvic pain, which can be a sign of endometriosis, will be redesigned to reduce repeat appointments, unnecessary referrals, and long waits.

This will create roadmaps for health systems to use and adapt for local needs that will enable women to move more quickly through the system and reach the level of care they need with fewer appointments. These redesigned pathways will also help systems to transform services, plan their workforce, and consider where capacity is most usefully deployed so that hospitals can provide the specialist care they are designed to, and move more care where appropriate into the community.

Women with endometriosis will benefit from single points of access for gynaecology referrals and a shift away from hospital only care towards neighbourhood and community settings.

We are also establishing an “online hospital”, NHS Online, which will give people across the country, on certain pathways, the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home. It will connect patients with clinicians across the country through secure, online appointments accessed through the NHS App.

Menstrual problems which may be a sign of endometriosis will be among the first nine conditions available for referral to NHS Online from 2027. This will allow women with menstrual problems which may be a sign of endometriosis across the country to reach a diagnosis and explore treatment options sooner.

The Government acknowledges the challenges faced by women with endometriosis and the impact it has on their lives, their relationships, and their participation in education and the workforce.

The Government also acknowledges the importance of ensuring healthcare professionals are adequately trained and educated on women’s health conditions, including endometriosis, and we have taken action to address this.

The General Medical Council has introduced the Medical Licensing Assessment to encourage a better understanding of common women’s health problems among all doctors as they start their careers in the United Kingdom. The content for this assessment includes several topics relating to women’s health, including endometriosis.

Women's health is included in the Royal College of General Practitioners’ (RCGP) curriculum for trainee general practitioners (GPs), including gynaecology, sexual health, and breast health. The curriculum also covers the healthcare needs of women across all diseases seen in primary care as it is important women are treated holistically. This ensures that all future GPs receive education on women’s health.

The RCGP has also published a Women’s Health Library which brings together educational resources and guidelines on women’s health from the RCGP, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the College of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare. This resource is continually updated to ensure GPs and other primary healthcare professionals have the most up-to-date advice to provide the best care for their patients.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has developed a women’s and reproductive health topic suite, and updated guidelines on endometriosis in 2024 to make firmer recommendations for healthcare professionals on referral and investigations for women with suspected diagnosis. These clinical guidelines support healthcare professionals to provide care for women with endometriosis.

Generally, employers in the health system are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to the required standards to deliver appropriate treatment for patients

The Government acknowledges the challenges faced by women with endometriosis and the impact it has on their lives, their relationships, and their participation in education and the workforce. We are committed to improving the diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care for endometriosis. It is unacceptable that women can wait so long for an endometriosis diagnosis, and we are taking action to address this.

The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy commits to speeding up diagnosis and access to treatment for conditions including endometriosis. The strategy announces a new programme to improve education for girls about their menstrual health, investing an additional £1 million to support targeted work in schools and community settings to support girls’ knowledge about menstrual health and when to seek healthcare. This is an important factor in delays in diagnosis and treatment for endometriosis.

Clinical pathways for heavy periods and pelvic pain, which can be a sign of endometriosis, will be redesigned to reduce repeat appointments, unnecessary referrals and long waits.

We are also establishing an “online hospital”, NHS Online, which will give people across the country, on certain pathways, the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home. It will connect patients with clinicians across the country through secure, online appointments accessed through the NHS App.

Menstrual problems, which may be a sign of endometriosis, will be among the first nine conditions available for referral to NHS Online from 2027. We’ve chosen some of the conditions with the longest waits and where online consultation works best. NHS Online will help to reduce patient waiting times, delivering the equivalent of up to 8.5 million appointments and assessments in its first three years, four times more than an average trust, while enhancing patient choice and control over their care. This will allow women with menstrual problems which may be a sign of endometriosis across the country to reach a diagnosis and explore treatment options sooner.

The Government recognises that women suffering with gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis and polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), have been failed for far too long, and we acknowledge the impact it has on women’s lives, relationships, and participation in education and the workforce.

The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy commits to speeding up diagnosis and access to treatment for conditions including endometriosis and PMOS.

Clinical pathways for heavy periods and pelvic pain, which can be a sign of endometriosis, will be redesigned to reduce repeat appointments, unnecessary referrals, and long waits.

The strategy also announces a new programme to improve education for girls about their menstrual health, investing an additional £1 million to support targeted work in schools and community settings to support girls’ knowledge about menstrual health and when to seek healthcare. This is an important factor in delays in diagnosis and treatment for endometriosis and PMOS.

We are also introducing an “online hospital”, NHS Online. From 2027, people on certain pathways, including menstrual problems that may be a sign of PMOS or endometriosis, will have the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home. NHS Online will help to reduce patient waiting times, delivering the equivalent of up to 8.5 million appointments and assessments in its first three years.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is developing a guideline on PMOS, which is expected to be published in December this year, with the draft guideline published for consultation in July.

The Government acknowledges the challenges faced by women with endometriosis and the impact it has on their lives, their relationships, and their participation in education and the workforce.

Endometriosis is identified as a priority condition in the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy, where women experience unacceptably long delays to diagnosis, pain being dismissed, and fragmented care.

Clinical pathways for heavy periods and pelvic pain, including endometriosis, will be redesigned to reduce repeat appointments, unnecessary referrals, and long waits.

The strategy also announces a new programme to improve education for girls about their menstrual health, investing an additional £1 million to support targeted work in schools and community settings to support girls’ knowledge about menstrual health and when to seek healthcare. This is an important factor in delays in diagnosis and treatment for endometriosis.

Menstrual problems, including those caused by endometriosis, are prioritised as one of the first pathways to be delivered through community-based services and the new virtual hospital, NHS Online.

These measures will support women across the country with endometriosis, including in Gloucester.

The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In 2024/25, through the NIHR, the Department committed £1.3 million for new research projects on gynaecological conditions and menstrual health, which includes endometriosis. This is building on the existing portfolio commissioned in this area. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including endometriosis. In recognition that some areas of women’s health have been underserved in research, the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy for England commits to prioritising research through the NIHR in areas of unmet need in women’s health, such as endometriosis.

We are committed to returning to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment by March 2029, including for gynaecology which covers endometriosis treatment. As of April 2026, 60.2% of patient pathways were waiting within 18 weeks for gynaecology, an improvement of 5.1 percentage points over the past year. The gynaecology waiting list stands at 571,944, down by 24,021 since the government came to office.

Our Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out reforms we are making to improve gynaecology waiting times across England. This includes utilising dedicated and protected surgical hubs which transform the way the NHS provides elective care by focusing on providing high volume low complexity surgery, as recommended by the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Surgical hubs are helping endometriosis patients get quicker access to surgical treatment. There are currently 125 operational elective surgical hubs in England, around half of which provide gynaecology services, with laparoscopies, which are used to diagnose and treat endometriosis, a key part of this offering. The Department is committed to ramping up the number of hubs over the next 2 years, so more operations can be carried out.

Whilst progress has been made, we know there is more to do in improving access to treatment for endometriosis. That is why the renewed Women’s Health Strategy, published in April this year, identifies endometriosis as a priority condition and commits to ensuring that women get the care they need sooner.

We are introducing an “online hospital”, NHS Online. From 2027, people on certain pathways, including menstrual problems that may be a sign of endometriosis, will have the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home. NHS Online will help to reduce patient waiting times, delivering the equivalent of up to 8.5 million appointments and assessments in its first three years across all specialities, supporting patients to get access to the care they need quickly, including access to surgical treatment.

It is unacceptable that women can wait so long for an endometriosis diagnosis and the Government is taking action to address this.

The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy, published in April, identifies endometriosis as a priority condition, where women experience unacceptably long delays to diagnosis, pain being dismissed, and fragmented care. The strategy commits to speeding up diagnosis and access to treatment for conditions including endometriosis by announcing the investment of an additional £1 million for a new programme to improve education for girls about their menstrual health, and helping them know when to seek treatment, by redesigning clinical pathways for heavy periods and pelvic pain, including endometriosis, to reduce repeat appointments, unnecessary referrals and long waits, supporting integrated care boards to introduce single points of access for gynaecology referrals and a shift away from hospital only care towards neighbourhood community settings.

Menstrual problems, including those caused by endometriosis, will be among the first nine conditions available for referral to NHS Online from 2027, which will help to reduce patient waiting times.

Surgical hubs are helping endometriosis patients get quicker treatment. There are currently 125 operational elective surgical hubs in England. Approximately half of the 125 operational surgical hubs provide gynaecology services, with laparoscopies, which are used to diagnose and treat endometriosis, being a key part of this offering.

The Government also acknowledges the importance of ensuring healthcare professionals are adequately trained and educated on women’s health conditions, including endometriosis, and we have taken action to address this.

The General Medical Council has introduced the Medical Licensing Assessment, and the content for this assessment includes several topics relating to women’s health, including endometriosis.

Women's health is included the Royal College of General Practitioners’ (RCGP) curriculum for trainee general practitioners and the RCGP has also published a Women’s Health Library which brings together educational resources and guidelines on women’s health from the RCGP, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the College of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare. This resource is continually updated to ensure general practitioners and other primary healthcare professionals have the most up-to-date advice to provide the best care for their patients.

Generally, employers in the health system are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to the required standards to deliver appropriate treatment for patients.

General practitioners are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge remains up-to-date and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development.

Pupils learn the facts about menstrual and reproductive health as part of compulsory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE). This includes fertility and the potential impact of lifestyle on fertility for men and women and the menopause. In July 2025, the department updated the RSHE statutory guidance to provide specific examples of period problems, including pre-menstrual syndrome, heavy menstrual bleeding, endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome, to ensure pupils understand when to seek help from healthcare professionals. The new curriculum comes into force from September 2026.

The department engaged with Endometriosis UK and the Department of Health and Social Care when developing and updating the guidance.

Schools continue to have the flexibility to decide how they teach RSHE topics, including how to draw on high-quality expertise available to them locally.

The government has commissioned Oak Academy to make lesson materials freely available.