Asked by: Hamilton, Rachael (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the final version of the Endometriosis Pathway for Scotland has been formally shared across NHS Scotland, and, if not, when that will happen.
Answered by Minto, Jenni - Minister for Public Health and Women's Health
The Endometriosis Referral Care Pathway for Scotland was published by the Centre for Sustainable Delivery in January 2023 and distributed to NHS Scotland Boards.
Jan. 23 2024
Source Page: Women's health plan: second annual progress report - January 2024Found: This included meeting with the NHS Near Me team to discuss their work on endometriosis, and the Scottish
Jan. 17 2024
Source Page: Women's Health Strategy priorities: Secretary of State speechFound: Painful periods and conditions such as endometriosis can stop girls and women from living their lives
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the Hologic Global Women’s Health Index which indicated that British women are sadder and more stressed than their European counterparts, what steps they are taking to improve women's health and wellbeing.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Women’s Health Strategy sets out the Government’s plans for boosting the health and wellbeing of women and girls, and for improving how the health and care system engages and listens to all women.
Achievements since the launch of the strategy include: appointing the first Women’s Health Ambassador for England; investing £25 million of funding into the expansion of women’s health hubs to improve women’s access to services and to create efficiencies for the National Health Service; reducing the cost of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) through the launch of the HRT prescription pre-payment certificate; and creating a women’s health area on the NHS website, to bring together women’s health content and create a first port of call for women seeking information.
We are focused on delivering our priorities for 2024, which include improving care for menstrual problems, including endometriosis, and maternity care, expanding women’s health hubs, tackling disparities and supporting the most vulnerable groups, and boosting research. Recent progress includes launching baby loss certificates to support patients who have experienced a loss of pregnancy before 24 weeks, continuing to roll out women’s health hubs across the country, and running a national media campaign on periods and menopause to encourage women to contact their general practice, if symptoms are affecting their life.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children in England have been issued puberty blockers since 2019.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We have always been clear that children’s safety and well-being is paramount, so we welcomed NHS England’s landmark decision to ban routine use puberty blockers to children experiencing gender dysphoria. This decision was based on the available evidence and expert clinical opinion.
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists or puberty blockers are used to treat several medical conditions in children and young people. These can include precocious puberty, some forms of cancer, endometriosis, and gender dysphoria.
Information on the clinical indication for which these medications have been prescribed is not held centrally. The following table shows the number of identifiable patients prescribed and dispensed gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists for all purposes, in primary and secondary care in England from 2019 to September 2022:
Financial year | Patients identified |
2018/19 | 1,072 |
2019/20 | 1,048 |
2020/21 | 936 |
2021/22 | 864 |
April to September 2022 | 693 |
Source: NHS Business Services Authority
Note: Prescriptions have only been included where a National Health Service number has been identified during processing, and an age has been recorded. The same patients may appear in multiple years.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to improve girls' health.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Health policy is devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive. The Women’s Health Strategy for England sets out our plans for boosting the health and wellbeing of women and girls. It takes a life course approach, focused on understanding the changing health and care needs of women and girls across their lives, from adolescents and young adults to later life. We recently set out our priorities for 2024, which include actions to improve girls’ health, such as improving care for menstrual problems like endometriosis, continuing to roll out women’s health hubs, and boosting research.
In addition, the Department and the National Health Service have a number of universal public health interventions to improve the health and wellbeing of all children, and respond to further needs and safeguarding concerns. This includes investing approximately £300 million over three years to improve support for families though the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, the Family Nurse Partnership to support vulnerable young mothers, the Healthy Start scheme to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children under four years old from low-income households, and Mental Health Support Teams in schools.
To support our ambition to eliminate cervical cancer, all children aged 12 to 13 years old are offered the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. Due to the success of the adolescent HPV programme, there has been an 87% reduction in cervical cancers for those vaccinated when compared to previous generations.
Jan. 23 2024
Source Page: Women's health plan: second annual progress report - January 2024Found: its sixty-six actions focus on six priority areas which are i) menopause, ii) menstrual health, iii) endometriosis
Mentions:
1: McCall, Roz (Con - Mid Scotland and Fife) Endometriosis Fife has advised me that the situation regarding waiting times for gynaecological services - Speech Link
2: Yousaf, Humza (SNP - Glasgow Pollok) ensure that the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care looks into the specific matter raised by Endometriosis - Speech Link
Written Evidence Oct. 19 2023
Inquiry: Women's reproductive healthFound: to guide on a range of reproductive health issues, such as menopause, menstruation, fertility, endometriosis
Asked by: Hamilton, Rachael (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown by age group of the number of women in Scotland with endometriosis.
Answered by Minto, Jenni - Minister for Public Health and Women's Health
The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government.