An all parliamentary group on women's health has told MPs that the current treatment of endometriosis in the UK is 'unacceptable'. Over 2,600 women responded to a survey posted by the group, and of these, 42% of women said that they felt that the were not treated with dignity or respect.
Two thirds of the women reported that they were not satisfied with the treatment options for fibriods and endometriosis, and nearly half of them were not told about the possible complications of treatment, both short term and long term complications. 4 in 10 women sought a second opinion.
A more worrying finding is that 40% of the women disclosed they had seen a doctor ten times or more before being diagnosed. Many of the women had to do their own research because doctors were not doing enough to give them the information they needed.
The parliamentary group, Wellbeing of Women, is chaired by Dewsbury MP Paula Sherriff, who set up the group after experiencing poor NHS care during her own health episodes. She said of the results of the survey:
“I was shocked by some of the stories we heard. The group has found that best practice does exist, and there are ways that women should be treated in the NHS.
Women should not to be dismissed and ignored, they should be referred to appropriate care and then given information and all possible treatment options, and their side effects and complications."
The group argue that better education for GPs and better provision of information for patients needs to be made to help women to be more quickly diagnosed, and treated appropriately
