Half a year wait for urgent endometriosis patients in the Western Trust
The average waiting time for an urgent endometriosis patient in the Western Trust is over half a year, the Health Minister Mikes Nesbitt has confirmed.
Mr. Nesbitt was asked about waiting times for patients with the painful and debilitating womb condition at the Stormont Assembly.
He said: "Endometriosis is a complex condition that affects patients to differing degrees. A diagnosis is determined based on the individual’s presenting symptoms and associated medical and surgical history, as well as the results obtained from a wide range of clinical tests and diagnostic procedures."
He confirmed that endometriosis diagnosis takes place as part of the gynaecology pathway and that the average waiting time for an urgent patient in gynaecology in the Western Trust was 29 weeks.
The average waiting time for a patient defined as routine in the Western Trust was 116 weeks.
Mr. Nesbitt said: "Average waiting time is the average (mean) of all patients waiting within the specialty at each hospital Trust and can be impacted by waiting times for subspecialty appointments.
"Patients waiting within subspecialties may experience a shorter waiting time or a significantly longer waiting time depending on the demand for a particular subspecialty appointment type.
"Some patients will wait less time than the average and some patients will wait longer than the average waiting time indicated."
The Health Minister added that ‘patients are being managed based on clinical urgency and therefore waiting times can vary depending on each patient’s clinical condition’.
The waiting time information provided is updated on the first Thursday of each month.