The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has updated its fertility guideline by including a new section on infertility due to endometriosis, and this was done following public feedback.
Endometriosis UK had urged NICE to provide a specific pathway, as the ailment affects nearly 1.5 million people in the country.
This move by NICE supports the 'Endometriosis Doesn't Wait' theme of the Endometriosis Action Month as well as the NHS 10-Year-Plan’s aim to bring care closer to home.
The new recommendation provides patients with a range of infertility treatment options based on their symptoms, how long they have been trying to conceive, their age, ovarian reserve, and any male fertility factors.
The treatment options include expectant management for natural conception, intrauterine insemination (IUI) or IVF or even surgical treatments.
The new move by NICE aims to set a clear, personalised pathway in the guidelines for endometriosis to make the treatments exclusive for individual needs.
Eric Power, interim director of the Centre for Guidelines at NICE said, “For too long, women with endometriosis who wanted to start a family have navigated a fertility system that did not fully recognise the distinct challenges their condition presents. This new guidance changes that. “
"By creating a dedicated section for endometriosis, we are giving clinicians a clear, evidence-based framework to have better, more personalised conversations with their patients, ensuring that everyone, regardless of the cause of their fertility problems, has access to the right care at the right time,” he added.
NICE nursing adviser Lucy Common said, “The committee’s recommendations give nurses and other healthcare professionals a clearer, more personalised framework to have those conversations, particularly with those living with endometriosis, who have too often been left without a clear pathway to follow.”
She also said, “For the first time, nurses can point to dedicated, evidence-based guidance that truly reflects the complexity of the condition and the individual needs of the person in front of them.”
Public Health minister, Sharon Hodgson, said, “We're committed to giving every woman the support she deserves, and today's guidance is a significant step towards ending the inconsistency that has let down too many, for too long.”
