"Still waiting for surgery"

I was diagnosed with severe endometriosis in spring 2021 at 29 years old through MRI scan. I saw a specialist consultant in August 2021 (6 months later). 

They explained to me that my case is severe and that I am currently infertile but this might be reversible. Because an MRI does not show the full extent of the disease, the only way to find out is to perform surgery to locate the endometriosis lesions and remove them. Therefore I have been put on the waiting list for surgery. 

We are 13 months later and I am still waiting. Meanwhile, I am 31 years old,  my biological clock is ticking and my situation will only become worse if not treated. Besides physical problems, there are true mental struggles to cope with. Altogether this results in an economical burden as I am not as fit for work as I used to be. And with me there are many more women in the same situation.

I believe the reason that there are no surgeries done is that the gynecology ward at the QEUH is occupied with elderly people that cannot go anywhere else. 

In my view, this situation is caused by the covid pandemic and poor management. However, two and a half years into this pandemic, this problem is still very present. And I can't believe that there seems to be no urgency in finding good care homes or share the load with other departments. 

Currently, there are endometriosis surgeries done, but very sporadic and on a one-off basis - whenever there is a bed and a team available.  Because of the last-minute availability, the "planning" of the surgeries is by telephone, but without leaving a message or giving the patient a chance to call back at a later time, because the slot needs to be filled asap. This gives enormous amounts of stress and anxiety to patients and results in people hyper-focusing on their mobile phones, afraid to miss a call. I missed a call and therefore I missed a surgery that I was waiting for for almost a year at the time.

This "policy" is outraging and does absolutely not comply with the Person Centred Health Policy that the NHS GGC health board advertises on their website. 

Why do other departments, such as orthopedics, manage to perform surgeries on a daily or weekly basis, with a waiting list less than 6 months? Why is it that women's health is such a forgotten subject? Why is it that women of child bearing - and working - age have to suffer for so long? 

Remember, 1 in 10 women are suffering from this disease. The longer we patients have to wait, the more symptoms, the worse the outcome, the more treatments needed, the higher the cost and the more of an economical burden there is. 

The NHS GGC should take more action and responsibility for this group of patients.

NB I would like to emphasize that this is not a complaint against the endo-team, as I fully understand they have their hands tied.