September in the policy world means only one thing: Party Conference season. This was the second year Endometriosis UK has attended as delegates, which has been an incredible opportunity to raise awareness of endometriosis and ensure it remains on the parliamentary agenda. Party Conferences are a key way of helping influence and shape the delivery of key policy areas, build relationships with key political stakeholders, stay informed about the key political issues on the horizon, and raise much needed awareness of the issues affecting those with endometriosis.
Endometriosis deserves to be high up on the political agenda, and at Endometriosis UK, we’re determined to ensure that’s the case. With diagnosis times taking on average a shocking near 9 years, gynaecology waiting times remaining unacceptably high, and young people woefully lacking the menstrual education that’s been promised, the stakes have never been higher. We need action, and Party Conference is a key opportunity to start turning those conversations into action.
During conference season, we’ve had meetings with various MPs and Ministers including Minister for Equalities Seema Malhotra MP (see Seema’s article on party conference and our meeting here), engaged with key political stakeholders, attended convened roundtables to advocate on behalf of those with endometriosis and attended various events on topics ranging from education to the future of the NHS.
Our five key political messages at Party Conferences were:
- Diagnosis time must come down. The current average time to a diagnosis in the UK is 8 years and 10 months. That’s far too long. Government must commit to reducing this to a year or less by 2030. We’re currently conducing a new diagnosis survey, and the results will inform the future of our campaigning work, and we look forward to sharing the results with Governments across the UK to campaign for change.
- Improving access to care. Even once you have a diagnosis, there can be challenges in accessing care. This shouldn’t be the case. At a minimum, the NICE Guideline on Endometriosis must be implemented if care is to be improved.
- Improve menstrual health education in schools. Despite being introduced as part of the RSE Curriculum, we know that access to menstrual health education for young people remains poor. It’s time that changed.
- The 10 Year Health Plan includes some interesting shifts that could help improve endometriosis care. We want the Government to work with Endometriosis UK to ensure the delivery of the Plan works for those with endometriosis.
- Employment: The Employment Rights Bill currently passing through Parliament includes much needed menopause action plans. But Government must go further and extend these to cover all menstrual health conditions including endometriosis. Let’s not leave anyone in the workplace behind.
Across the conference, there was significant emphasis and discussion on the 10 Year Health Plan and the emergence of digital and AI to improve care and patient records. In his keynote speech last Tuesday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the creation of NHS Online, a new “online hospital” that will allow patients to book tests, access prescriptions, receive clinical advice and manage appointments through the NHS app. The 10 Year Health Plan also aims to move hospital care where possible into the community.
We know that there is not sufficient capacity, funding and resource to meet the needs of endometriosis patients. Gynaecology waiting times are too high, and patients often struggle to access the care that they need. Central to addressing these challenges will be the NHS workforce, and we’re pleased that the 10 Year Workforce Plan consultation is now live. Key to its success will be a greater focus on new roles and multidisciplinary working, enabling the workforce to deliver care in new and more integrated ways, digital innovation and AI, and early intervention – key for ensuring those experiencing symptoms receive a prompt diagnosis. We had various discussions about what this could mean for the future of endometriosis care, and have been encouraged by the appetite for change with regards to endometriosis care.
As a next step, in November, we’ll be hosting a roundtable to discuss what the 10 Year Health Plan could mean for endometriosis care, a closed roundtable event for parliamentarians, health policy experts and patients.
We now look forward to following up with all the incredible contacts we made at conference to turn these conversations into action for the endometriosis community.
Get involved
If you’d like to support our campaign work, you can lobby your MP today by using our simple online lobbying tool. All you need to do is fill out your details, add in any information you want to about your own connection to endometriosis, and it will automatically send a message to your MP.
If you have any questions, please contact us on policy@endometriosis-uk.org
