Women in England are in great need of help from gynaecologists. There, a huge rise in the Gynaecologist waiting lists in England is recorded in an analysis done by the NHS. There are at least 570,000 women who are waiting to get themselves checked for the issues they are facing.
The doctors and hospitals were busy tackling the Covid-19 and the list of other patients was increasing. The number of people on the waiting list rose by 60%. This rise is being spotted in one particular area.
“Patients were frequently deprioritised and also ignored,” said the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
NHS England stated average doctors are spending most of their time clearing the Covid backlog and so the average waiting time for other treatments is going down.
A serious patient of a disease called endometriosis, Chetna Mistry, called herself a prisoner of endometriosis. This disease grows the similar tissues of the lining of the womb to other areas in the reproductive system. Creating a painful condition for patients to live with.
Chetna described her condition as making it seem like a serious disease, which is right. It affected her in both ways physically and mentally.
Because of it, she became infertile and now at the age of 42, she needed a hysterectomy. She went through so much pain and was admitted to the hospital several times. In June 2020 she was referred to a specialist but due to Covid, it was impossible. But even after 21 month, Chetna did not get an appointment. Chetna has also uploaded a video showing her painful story.
Not only this but several other cases come into the light to describe how serious this issue is.
We have another patient who needs a Gynecologist but isn’t getting one. Lucy Reddin stayed at home for one month bearing unbearable pain. It was March 2021 she was referred for help but did not get it. She called it cruelty for staying on someone’s help this long, waiting to get a hysterectomy appointment.
Lucy feels suicidal when the pain catches her. She said at that time you can only think of ending it no matter what is the way.
Another reason behind this rise is also expected to be gender bias. There was a waiting list of at least 286,008 women before the pandemic. So the pandemic cannot be blamed. Dr Edward Morris, president of RCOG, said that ” we feel sorry and helpless for not speeding up the services for women.”
Women were deprived of health services previously and Covid made it worse for them.
