The waiting time between a woman in Scotland first seeking help for endometriosis and finally being diagnosed is now more than a decade. The Scottish Government is acting to improve women’s healthcare but these latest figures show just how far we have to go, writes Rebecca McQuillan

Endometriosis can be a harrowing disease.

Sometimes dismissed as just heavy periods – which are bad enough – it’s so much more than that. Women describe it like an uninvited guest turning up every month for days at a time – an uninvited guest with sadistic intent. It brings persistent and distracting pain. For some, pain never goes away. Caused by cells like those that line the womb growing in other parts of the body, it’s not very surprising it causes such distress.

But women and girls with endometriosis have long described their struggles to have the condition taken seriously.

They report being doubled over in pain. They report migraines and having to take days off school or work regularly. They often report repeated visits to a variety of doctors but still having difficulty getting diagnosed.

Now the charity Endometriosis UK has published stark data exposing the problem, showing women in Scotland are waiting a decade for diagnosis, from the first time they seek help. The precise figure is 10 years and two months, up from eight years and six months in 2020. This compares to a UK average time of nine years and four months. That is a truly extraordinary time-lag for a condition affecting an estimated 10 per cent of women and those assigned female at birth, and presenting with such high levels of pain and distress.

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