City MP brands gynaecology services ‘unacceptable’ with no appointments until 2023
WOMEN are waiting ‘longer than ever’ for gynaecology services across the country as waiting lists have risen by more than 60 per cent compared to prepandemic levels.
New data from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) warned that patients were being ‘consistently deprioritised and overlooked.’
The plight of one woman from Coventry was brought up in the House of Commons by city MP Taiwo Owatemi who branded waiting times ‘unacceptable.’
Ms Owatemi said: “Just to be clear, the backlog is not just caused by Covid. Figures published by the Royal College of Obstetrics show that the number of women waiting over 12 months for healthcare in England ballooned from 66 women two years ago to 25,000 women today.”
Speaking about one of her constituents, Taiwo added: “A constituent of mine recently wrote to me stating that the earliest available gynaecological appointment offered to her was in October 2023 which is over a year away from now. So given that the Government’s long-delayed women’s health strategy still does not exist what action will the Minister take now to reduce those unacceptable waiting times?”
RCOG revealed that waiting times are having a devastating impact on 570,000 women in the UK who are facing prolonged delays for gynaecology appointments, diagnoses and treatments. According to a survey of 837 women, 80 per cent said their mental health has
worsened due to the wait, while more than 75 per cent of respondents reported that their symptoms worsened.
Rachael, 44, who lives with her husband and two children, said she is waiting for treatment for her prolapse following an initial appointment with a gynaecologist and is also experiencing difficult symptoms from the perimenopause.
“It was in 2019 that I first saw a gynaecologist for prolapse and was referred both to a pessary clinic and to a women’s health physio,” she said.
“Since then, I have had multiple pessaries that haven’t managed to alleviate the symptoms from the prolapse, and I was put on the waiting list for surgery before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. I have been waiting ever since.”
Rachel has been forced to leave her employment because she feels ‘exhausted’ most days. She said: “I had to give up work last year because I just feel exhausted a lot of the time. I’m no longer interested in socialising unless I know I can sit down, or won’t be walking too far.
“I can’t even do gentle exercise without the pain that follows, it just aggravates it. I’m just trying to bring up two young kids, and keep physically well, and it makes everything so much harder. I feel like my whole life is on pause.”
Responding to Ms Owatemi’s speech in the Commons, Conservative MP Maria Caulfield said: “Well I think the honourable lady has answered her own question. She says that cases have risen in the last two years, that is precisely because of the pandemic. If we were under a Labour government we would still be in lockdown.”