Written question WQ99656
- Asked by
- Cai Parry-JonesReform
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Minister for Health and Care
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 8 days
Question
What action is the Welsh Government taking to reduce diagnosis times for endometriosis in Wales, including consideration of new diagnostic tests, and to improve timely access to specialist diagnosis, treatment and care for women affected by the condition?
Answer
Answered by Deputy Minister for Social Care, Mental Health and Women’s Health (Delyth Jewell)
We recognise that diagnosis of endometriosis can take too long. We are committed to strengthening the NHS Wales Women’s Health Plan – reducing delayed diagnosis and late treatment for women and girls in areas such as endometriosis.
We are committed to improving service access and support to women with endometriosis through a programme of work focused on improving the pathway across primary, secondary and tertiary services. This will include work to improve workforce skills to encourage earlier recognition of symptoms and improving access to assessment and treatment to reduce diagnostic delays across Wales. As this work develops, we will give consideration to whether a target for diagnosis times is appropriate.
We welcome NICE's recent draft recommendations supporting the evaluation of innovative non-invasive diagnostic technologies for endometriosis. This reflects the importance of earlier diagnosis and improved women's health pathways, which are key ambitions of the Women's Health Plan for Wales. We will consider the implementation of these tests as part of primary care pathway development following final recommendations from NICE due October 2026