Mrs Sharon Hodgson

Yes—I or my colleague in the Department will undertake to look at that and ensure the hon. Lady receives a response. In response to questions on data and research raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Hampstead and Highgate (Tulip Siddiq), and the hon. Members for Strangford (Jim Shannon) and for Bath (Wera Hobhouse), the Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, has commissioned several studies focused on endometriosis diagnosis, treatment and patient experience. At present, the NIHR is funding six active research awards, totalling an investment of approximately £7.8 million. That includes a new £2.3 million award on the effectiveness of pain management for endometriosis, starting this month. In response to the hon. Member for Strangford asking the Department to engage with health Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive to discuss any learnings, best practice and areas to improve, I commit to do that. That is a great suggestion. The hon. Member for Bath asked me about the Women and Equalities Committee inquiry into reproductive health conditions. I am grateful for the work that Committee is doing and welcome its report on that important topic. The Department will be issuing an official response to the report’s recommendations in due course. Research has already led to new treatments being made available, including NICE approval of two pills to treat endometriosis, relugolix and linzagolix—oh, to have the skill of a doctor in pronouncing these complicated drug names! Those drugs are estimated to help around 1,000 women with severe endometriosis for whom other treatment options have not been effective. No one should have to put up with chronic pain, which is one of the most common symptoms of endometriosis. The renewed women’s health strategy is under development, so I cannot say exactly what will be included, but the published strategy will set out the actions we are taking to improve women’s experiences, including around pain. As part of our engagement informing the renewal of that strategy, we held a roundtable on women’s experiences of pain, chaired by Baroness Merron and attended by women with lived experience and by expert organisations. That roundtable is informing our work to renew the strategy. Better care also depends on better understanding. Improving public and healthcare professionals’ awareness of endometriosis will reduce the stigma, of which a number of Members spoke, and will ensure that symptoms are recognised rather than normalised or dismissed. In response to the concern of my hon. Friend the Member for Hampstead and Highgate about DWP training for assessors, I commit to write to the DWP to make that very point. In response to the hon. Member for Chichester (Jess Brown-Fuller) and the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan), the General Medical Council has strengthened women’s health representation in training. Since last year it has required UK medical graduates to pass the medical licensing assessment, encouraging a better understanding of common women’s health problems. That assessment includes topics on women’s health, including endometriosis. Women’s health is also built into the Royal College of General Practitioners’ curriculum for trainee GPs, which brings together educational resources and clinical guidance to support primary care teams. Clinical guidance has been strengthened, too: NICE updated its endometriosis guidelines in 2024 to support more consistent decision making and faster routes to specialist input. NICE is working with the NHS to ensure the adoption of this best practice for endometriosis care, including access to approved medicines. Research indicates that women’s experiences of healthcare are not uniform, as we have heard, and particularly that outcomes can vary sharply between different communities. Ethnically diverse women with endometriosis can encounter additional hurdles in getting a diagnosis and appropriate support. We will not accept those disparities as inevitable. Our ambition is for a fairer Britain, where people live well for longer and spend less time in ill health, and where women, whatever their background, can rely on high-quality care.