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<p>Information on the number of endometriosis patients and waiting times is not collected
in the format requested. While the National Health Service collects data on patients
awaiting treatment for gynaecological conditions, it does not separately record the
specific condition such as endometriosis. There are currently 481,083 patients on
gynaecology waiting lists in England, including for endometriosis. The average median
waiting time for gynaecological treatment was 14 weeks.</p><p>In 2019/20 gynaecology
waiting lists remained stable in England with an average of approximately 284,000
patients waiting for treatment each month. In 2020/21, the waiting list increased
by more than 40% due to the impact of the pandemic, with a reduction in this growth
of 25% in 2021/22. As of March 2022, 26,223 patients had waited one year or more for
gynaecology treatment in England, with 797 patients waiting two years or more.</p><p>
</p><p>We have invested £520 million to improve access to general practitioners (GP)
during the pandemic. This is in addition to £1.5 billion in 2020 to create an additional 50 million
GP appointments by 2024, which will improve access for patients with endometriosis.</p><p>The
‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ outlines how the
NHS will reduce waiting times across all elective services. The plan commits to eradicate
all waiting times of longer than a year for elective care by March 2025, except in
the case of patient choice.</p><p> </p><p>We are providing more than £8 billion over
the next three years, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700
million Targeted Investment Fund already available, to increase elective activity. We
are also increasing capacity for gynaecological surgery through the Getting It Right
First Time ‘High Volume Low Complexity’ programme. In the West Midlands, recovery
plans are in place which include demand and capacity modelling. Patients with symptoms
of endometriosis will be prioritised based on clinical need. In Coventry and Warwickshire,
the local NHS has committed to ensure that no patients will wait more than 104 weeks
by the end of June 2022. The NHS-led Provider Collaborative has identified endometriosis
as a priority area and recently established a group to develop further initiatives
to reduce waiting times for endometriosis patients.</p><p><strong> </strong></p>
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