PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Gynaecology: Health Services (16 June 2022)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle the backlog in gynaecology appointments; and whether he has considered the potential merits of providing additional funding to gynaecology.

Asked by:
Feryal Clark (Labour)

As of April 2022, the median average waiting time for gynaecology treatment in England was 13.7 weeks, a decrease of nearly 30% from the peak average waiting time in July 2020. However, activity levels for gynaecology treatment continue to recover and as of April 2022 were 95% of pre-COVID-19 levels. The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ outlines how the National Health Service will reduce waiting times across all elective services, including gynaecology and menstrual health.

The plan commits to investing in the physical separation of routine care to protect planned services from emergency care pressures where possible. We are increasing capacity for gynaecological surgery to tackle waiting lists through the surgical hub and High Volume Low Complexity programme.

Some gynaecological services, such as menstrual health services, are predominantly provided by general practitioners (GPs) which remained open throughout the pandemic. We have invested £520 million to improve access and expand GP capacity, in addition to the £1.5 billion already announced in 2020 to create an additional 50 million GP appointments by 2024.

Answered by:
Maria Caulfield (Conservative)
23 June 2022