Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Health to detail any steps being taken to ensure that women with suspected endometriosis have access to consistent diagnostic and treatment support.
Minister of Health: All Health and Social Care (HSC) Trusts currently provide care for women and girls with suspected or confirmed endometriosis, with care generally led by consultant gynaecologists working within multidisciplinary teams.
A regional Northern Ireland Endometriosis Pathway has been developed in partnership with stakeholders across both primary and secondary care. This pathway has been shared with Trust gynaecology units and the Gynaecology Provider Collaborative. It outlines the patient journey from initial presentation in primary care through enhanced primary care services and local endometriosis provision, and onwards to the developing regional endometriosis centres. It also includes arrangements for follow-up care.
The pathway supports timely diagnosis through clinical assessment and appropriate investigations, including imaging and laparoscopic procedures where clinically indicated. Treatment options include monitoring, medical management, surgery and fertility-related care where appropriate.
My Department is working closely with HSC Trusts to enhance diagnostic capacity, increase the number of laparoscopy procedures and expand outpatient appointment availability.
To support the delivery of this new model of care, Trusts are developing business cases to expand and strengthen local endometriosis services across all five HSC Trusts.
In parallel, the two regional endometriosis centres in Belfast HSC and Western HSC Trusts are being developed to provide specialist care for women with complex endometriosis, including access to multidisciplinary teams and input from other surgical specialties such as colorectal surgery and urology where required.
While the service model being developed aligns with the national Endometriosis Pathway, available funding does not currently allow for full implementation of all elements. Therefore, development will proceed on a phased basis to ensure that services are expanded in a safe, sustainable and clinically effective manner.
Phase One of the Endometriosis Service maps the patient’s journey across primary care, enhanced primary care, and local, regional and tertiary services. The model is based on the pathway designed by the Endometriosis Task and Finish Group and ensures that patients are seen in the right place, at the right time, by the right practitioner. As part of this pathway, regional centres in Belfast and Western HSC Trusts are being developed and expanded to manage women with severe disease. These multidisciplinary, accredited services will provide the level of care and support that endometriosis specialists have long advocated for in Northern Ireland. This model enables women to access tertiarylevel expertise while ensuring that followup care is delivered as close to home as possible.
Phase one includes:
the designation and development of regional specialist endometriosis centres, supported by identified spoke sites across HSC Trusts;
the establishment of multidisciplinary team (MDT) arrangements, including gynaecology, pain management, colorectal and urology input, specialist nursing and psychological support within the region;
the implementation of standardised referral pathways and clinical protocols to ensure consistency of care across the region;
early investment in training and workforce development, particularly for specialist clinicians and nurses;
strengthening of diagnostic capacity, including imaging and access to laparoscopic investigation where clinically indicated; and
engagement with service users and stakeholders to support co-production of pathways and patient information.
At this stage, my officials have indicated that Phase One of the regional centres’ development will be delivered largely through the reconfiguration and optimisation of existing resources, with targeted investment required to support additional staffing, training and service coordination. While precise costs remain subject to final business case approval, initial estimates suggest a requirement in the region of £2m to establish the core elements of the regional service.
Phase One will invest a total of £700,000 in the two regional endometriosis centres compromising £350,000 per centre. It is anticipated that recruitment to associated posts within the business case will be progressed in 2026/27.
Subject to funding approval and workforce availability, Phase One is expected to be progressed over a 12-month period, with initial elements such as MDT arrangements and pathway standardisation, commencing within the first six months. Full implementation of Phase One funding will be realised by the end of this period.
Phase One represents a critical first step, with further phases planned to expand capacity and enhance specialist provision in line with demand and ongoing evaluation.
ENDS
