Chamber and committees

NHS 24 use qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate, review and optimise NHS inform content. This includes, for example:

• analysis of user activity on their website
• user feedback
• user research
• user testing
• partner and community engagement feedback
• 111 call trends

NHS 24 conduct regular audits and reviews to ensure accuracy, relevance and clarity of content.

The Scottish Government does not asses the effectiveness of third sector initiatives which it does not fund.

Through the NHS Inform Women’s Health Platform, we have made a range of information on endometriosis freely available to women online.

This includes signposting to peer support groups and organisations such as Endometriosis UK who operate a free, confidential helpline run by trained volunteers who have a personal experience of endometriosis. This helpline is available for anyone in Scotland to access. In addition, Endometriosis UK have expanded their helpline provision to include a new nurse-led helpline which launched on 28 January 2025.

There are also national helplines including 111, Breathing Space and The Samaritans.

Through the development of the next phase of the Women’s Health Plan we will continue to engage with women to understand what support they want and need, including for endometriosis.

Data on pain management outcomes for women with endometriosis is not held by Scottish Government.

Endometriosis is one of the key priorities in the Women’s Health Plan and will continue to be so. We are committed to ensuring those living with endometriosis are able to access the best possible care and support and that they benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

We are committed to our ambition to improve the quality of life and wellbeing for people with chronic pain. The updated Implementation Plan for the Scottish Government’s Pain Management Service Delivery Framework, published in November 2023, has 18 actions to improve care and support for people living with chronic pain.

In November 2024, we launched our national chronic pain knowledge hub and learning toolkit, available to all NHS Scotland Health and Care staff to deepen their understanding of chronic pain.

In addition, we have also funded Endometriosis UK to produce a booklet and two webinars on self-management tips for managing endometriosis pain.

Endometriosis UK also operate a free, confidential helpline run by trained volunteers who have a personal experience of endometriosis and have expanded their helpline provision by launching a new nurse-led helpline on 28 January 2025 providing further sources of support.

Through the actions set out in our Women’s Health Plan we have taken steps to support both women and health professionals to learn more about endometriosis, the symptoms and treatment options to support earlier identification and minimise time to diagnosis.

The NHS Inform endometriosis page acknowledges the importance of emotional support and provides links to local peer-to-peer support groups.

There are also national helplines including 111, Breathing Space and The Samaritans.

In addition, we have also funded Endometriosis UK to produce a booklet and two webinars on self-management tips for managing endometriosis pain.

Endometriosis UK also operate a free, confidential helpline run by trained volunteers who have a personal experience of endometriosis. Endometriosis UK have also expanded their helpline provision by launching a new nurse-led helpline on 28 January 2025

Endometriosis is one of the key priorities in the Women’s Health Plan and will continue to be so. We are committed to ensuring those living with endometriosis are able to access the best possible care and support and that they benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on the number of NHS health professionals using the NHS Education for Scotland Menstrual Health Symptom Questionnaire in patient consultations.

As part of the implementation of the Women’s Health Plan, an NHS Education for Scotland Menstrual Health module educational resource has been developed and is free to access for anyone working in the NHS in Scotland via Turas Learn. The module includes a link to the questionnaire and guides the learner on how it can be used. We continue to work with NHS Education for Scotland to promote this training module among health professionals.

The questionnaire is also freely available to both patients and healthcare professionals through the NHS Inform menstrual health resource.

Through the actions set out in our Women’s Health Plan we have taken steps to support both women and health professionals to learn more about endometriosis, the symptoms and treatment options, so that waiting times for diagnosis can improve.

Endometriosis has two stages of diagnosis, a working diagnosis at primary care level and a confirmed diagnosis via laparoscopy at secondary care. Not everyone with endometriosis will want to have a laparoscopy to confirm their diagnosis, particularly if their symptoms can be well managed.

We want people to achieve a working diagnosis as soon as possible to enable swift access to appropriate care and treatment. That is why the Endometriosis Care Pathway for NHS Scotland is clear and advises healthcare professionals to suspect endometriosis in women who present with one or more endometriosis-like symptom (including in young women aged 16 and under).

We know that excessively long waits for laparoscopy are not acceptable, and we apologise to all patients waiting too long. We are determined to drive improvements in this area and continue to work closely with NHS boards on a number of actions which will see patients treated as quickly as possible.

The Endometriosis Care Pathway for NHS Scotland supports healthcare professionals, including those in primary care, to provide a holistic approach and timely care for those with endometriosis and endometriosis-like symptoms. The pathway advises healthcare professionals to suspect endometriosis in women who present with one or more endometriosis-like symptom (including in young women aged 16 and under) NHS Boards should be taking steps to implement the pathway.

To support health care professionals to improve their knowledge and understanding of endometriosis NHS Education for Scotland (NES) has launched an e-learning module on menstrual health available on Turas Learn. It is open access to anyone working in NHS Scotland and is in particular aimed at those working in primary care.

Further training resources have also been provided through the Women’s Health Masterclass on endometriosis which provided information on diagnosis, treatment and current research on endometriosis, raising awareness of the Pathway with attendees. The resources from this event are also available on Turas Learn.

Additionally, we are have funded the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) to develop new training resources on endometriosis for members, which will be available in the coming months.

The Endometriosis Care Pathway for NHS Scotland supports healthcare professionals to provide a holistic approach and timely care for those with endometriosis and endometriosis-like symptoms.

The pathway is clear and advises healthcare professionals to suspect endometriosis in women who present with one or more symptom (including in young women aged 16 and under).

Clinicians are advised to assess women’s individual information and support needs and take into account their circumstances, symptoms, priorities, desire for fertility, aspects of daily living, work and study, cultural background, and their physical, psychosexual and emotional needs.

All NHS Boards should be taking steps to implement the pathway.

To support health care professionals to improve their knowledge and understanding of endometriosis, NHS Education for Scotland (NES) has launched an e-learning module on menstrual health available on Turas Learn. It is open access to anyone working in NHS Scotland and in particular aimed at those working in primary care.

Further training resources have also been provided through the Women’s Health Masterclass on endometriosis which provided information on diagnosis, treatment and current research on endometriosis, raising awareness of the Pathway with attendees. The resources from this event are also available on Turas Learn.

Additionally, we are have funded the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) to develop new training resources on endometriosis for members, which will be available in the coming months.

A campaign report evaluating the campaign on Endometriosis for young people in Scotland was provided by Young Scot in April 2023 which measured young people’s engagement with the campaign.

High engagement was achieved across the campaign webpages through social media and paid marketing:

• 2.3 million impressions which is the number of times a user sees a piece of content, regardless of whether they interact with it;
• 56,000 social media engagements which represents number of people interacting with the social media accounts and content; and
• 84,000 video views which reflects the number of times the video content was watched.

With regard to ensuring menstrual health, including endometriosis is included in the school curriculum, I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-30034, on 3 October 2024, and S6W-32189, on 23 December 2024. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Menopause and Menstrual Health Workplace Policy, launched on 31 October 2023, is for NHS Scotland. There are 22 NHS Scotland Boards, who have all adopted this policy (each being separate employers). There are 124,032.8 whole time equivalent (WTE) female staff working across NHS Scotland and women represent 77.1% of the NHS Scotland workforce as of September 2024.