Thank you very much for contacting me regarding your concerns about endometriosis and Endometriosis UK’s campaign “End the Silence”.
My colleagues and I in the Welsh Conservatives wholeheartedly agree that more must be done to ensure that waiting times for endometriosis treatment are reduced significantly. At the start of the pandemic, in 2020, Wales was the worst performing UK nation when it came to the diagnosis time for endometriosis, with women waiting on average nine years from the onset of symptoms.
I was also extremely concerned to learn that the Fair Treatment for Women in Wales has said that the wait for women to see the specialist surgeons in Cardiff, the only endometriosis specialist centre in Wales, is now up to five years. It has also been reported by the UK Parliament’s All Party Parliamentary Group on Endometriosis that many women had been refused referral to endometriosis specialist centres, and rather sent to local hospitals where there was an absence of expertise. Further, it is very worrying that 32 percent of patients are waiting 10 months or more for surgery, nearly double the rate of England.
Welsh Conservatives have consistently raised the need for period dignity as well as proper education about menstruation. For example, Welsh Conservatives put forward amendments to the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act to raise awareness of menstrual wellbeing and to place it as a mandatory subject within the Relationships and Sexual Education (RSE) part of the curriculum, so that young women and children are aware of what a “normal” period is, which will help aid earlier diagnosis of endometriosis. Although this amendment was rejected, we were assured that menstrual wellbeing and health would be included within the statutory RSE Code.
Rest assured, my colleague, Russell George MS, Shadow Spokesperson for Health, will continue to raise these concerns directly with the Health Minister, Eluned Morgan MS.
Thank you again for taking the time to write to me.
Yours sincerely