Gynaecology waiting lists in the UK have reached a critical point, with over 750,000 women waiting for care as of 2024 - up from 360,400 just before the pandemic.
Behing these numbers are real women living in extreme and often avoidable pain. Women who are desperate for help and support, waiting months / years for vital treatment and care. These are women who are waiting to be seen for problems that range from fibroids and endometriosis to incontinence and menopause care.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has highlighted the rate of referrals to gynaecology services outpaces the number of patients treated each month, exacerbating the backlog. Further, that the waiting list crisis is particularly severe in deprived areas, where waiting times are longer and health inequalities more pronounced.
While waiting, women are left struggling with symptoms such as extreme pain, heavy menstrual bleeding, pelvic organ prolapse, and incontinence and long waits can result in more complex needs or emergency admission to hospital.
Since publishing the “Left for too long” report in 2022, the RCOG has consistently called the Government and the NHS to action to reduce current long waits for hospital gynaecology appointments.
Women are being “let down" and change is "urgently needed," says Dr Ranee Thakar, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG).
The personal impact of gynaecology waiting lists
The RCOG’s latest publication “Waiting for a way forward” highlights the ongoing impact of gynaecology waiting times on women. What is clear is that because of long waiting times, many women are now living with increasingly complex conditions and severe symptoms.
As the powerful accounts of women’s experiences show, gynaecological conditions can be so painful and debilitating that they can impact on every aspect of family, social and work life. Many women talked about the impact on their mental health and of not feeling listened to.
Even though many women took the time to explicitly recognise the pressure the NHS is under, they still often felt dismissed or not listened to, with 63% of survey respondents reporting feeling ‘ignored’ and only 8% reporting feeling ‘acknowledged’. This sentiment is, sadly, not uncommon in women’s health more generally.
A quarter of the women who responded to the survey reported that they had attended A&E because of their symptoms, with more than 1 in 10 women going on to have emergency interventions.
The financial impact of gynaecology waiting lists
The current state of gynaecology waiting times should concern not just the women directly impacted and the professionals caring for them. It should concern all of us that in 2024 women, who make up 51% of the population of the UK, are being prevented from living full, healthy lives.
Therefore, the RCOG is calling for Governments to commit more long-term funding, to ensure women get the help they need.
This would have huge benefits not just for the women waiting for care, but also the NHS and the economy. The recent NHS Confederation report statistics suggest that being absent from work - because of heavy periods, endometriosis, fibroids and ovarian cysts - costs the UK economy nearly £11 billion each year. Further, that for every additional £1 of public investment in obstetrics and gynaecology services per woman in England, there would be an estimated £319 million return to the economy.
RCOG key recommendations
The RCOG makes the following key recommendations to ensure the effective and equitable recovery of elective gynaecology services:
- Prioritisation of care as part of NHS recovery must look beyond clinical need to also consider the wider aspects on women waiting for care;
- There needs to be a shift in the way gynaecology is prioritised as a speciality across the NHS;
- Elective recovery must address the unequal growth of gynaecology waiting lists compared to other specialities;
- Elective recovery in gynaecology must focus on reducing the disparities between different regions and CCGs, ending the postcode lottery for gynaecology care; and
- Governments across all four nations must put in place fully funded, long-term plans for the NHS workforce to ensure that staffing does not continue to be a barrier to reducing waiting lists.
What can I do if I have been affected by a delay in treating my gynaecological symptoms?
Gynaecology waiting lists will likely result in delays in diagnosis or treatment which can cause or contribute to adverse outcomes.
Delayed access to gynaecology services can not only lead to a deterioration / worsening of symptoms, but also additional and avoidable harm. For example, a delay in diagnosis and treating a progressive condition like endometriosis will likely result in increased pain, discomfort and adverse psychological impact, but it could also lead to infertility. Similarly, a delay in treating a pelvic organ prolapse could potentially lead to avoidable chronic pain and a more significant surgery being required.
Women unable to access timely gynaecological care may have to resort to emergency healthcare and so will have likely experienced a significant (and avoidable) deterioration in their symptoms necessitating emergency care or have experience additional harm / additional symptoms because of the emergency care.
In all the above scenarios, there may be a potential medical negligence claim if it can be proven that the delays constituted a breach of care (were negligent) and that earlier treatment would likely have resulted in a better outcome.
There is also the emotional and mental health impact. Women waiting for gynaecological treatment often report significant mental health effects, including anxiety and depression. If these effects arise from avoidable delays or mismanagement of care, they could form part of a medical negligence claim.
Support for women experiencing delays in gynaecological treatment
Hannah Carr is a specialist women’s health solicitor. She says:
“It’s clear from the RCOG report and survey that there is lots of room for improvements in gynaecological services.”
“It’s time that health services meet the needs of women across the country, by delivering timely, compassionate and holistic care.”
“The anxiety and worry of waiting for care, and in particular not knowing when they would be seen and treated is a clear challenge for women and one that could be avoidable.”
“As a women’s health solicitor, I too often see worrying cases where women’s health needs have not been addressed and diagnoses or treatments have been delayed which are, sadly, compounded by ongoing healthcare inequalities and the “postcode lottery”. This needs urgently addressing.
If you or a loved one has experienced delays in accessing gynaecology services, please contact us. We are here to help you.
