Waiting times for endometriosis patients, a key concern
On Tuesday 19 November, two members of Parliament, Alice MacDonald (MP) and Jim Shannon (MP), raised questions about the waiting times for treatment and diagnosis for conditions such as endometriosis. Despite substantial reliable evidence supporting the efficacy of acupuncture for endometriosis, the 2024 update of the National Institute for Health and Care (NICE) guidelines, (NG73 Endometriosis: diagnosis and management), failed to include a recommendation. NICE guidelines inform best practice care in the NHS which means that patients are potentially at risk of not receiving effective treatment for this often debilitating illness.
Evidence for acupuncture not considered
Acupuncture was not included in the scope for the 2024 update to the 2017 NICE guidelines. However, in the period since 2017, systematic reviews on the benefits of acupuncture for those with endometriosis have been published. These include the following systematic reviews:
Acupuncture for endometriosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis (Giese et al, 2023)
Concluded: Acupuncture treatment for endometriosis demonstrated clinically relevant improvements in pelvic pain and should be considered as a potential treatment intervention.
Acupuncture for clinical improvement of endometriosis‑related pain: a systematic review and meta‑analysis (Chen et al 2024)
Concluded: Acupuncture is effective in alleviating dysmenorrhea and pelvic pain associated with endometriosis, reducing serum CA-125 levels, decreasing the size of nodules, improving patients’ quality of life, and lowering the recurrence rate.
Accredited acupuncture ready to meet national healthcare needs
These studies show clear evidence that acupuncture for endometriosis should be further explored. The Department for Health and Social Care has launched a public consultation for the development of its strategy for the NHS for the next 10 years. Traditional acupuncture has been officially recommended as an important healthcare choice, most notably in the NICE guidelines for primary chronic pain. It has widespread acceptance and substantive evidence and should form part of the NHS strategy over the next decade.
The UK currently faces a workforce crisis in the NHS which is itself struggling to meet new challenges such as soaring workplace absence rates from sickness
Since 2013, the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) has been an Accredited Register of the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA), a public safety body that reports directly to the UK Parliament. PSA Accredited Registers help people get better care by ensuring that the health practitioners they register are competent and trustworthy.
In October of this year, at a Westminster Health Forum, CEO of the PSA, Dr Alan Clamp, made the case for the use of Accredited Registers to address the current needs of NHS workforce planning. Due to this trusted accreditation standard, the directory of BAcC acupuncturists is linked to from both the NHS acupuncture webpage and Endometriosis UK .
British Acupuncture Council CEO, Alex Jacobs, states, ‘By choosing a BAcC member acupuncturist, the public can be assured that they are seeking the services of a highly trained competent acupuncturist who is both safe and trustworthy. The potential for acupuncture to transform healthcare in the UK is enormous. We call on the government to put their full support behind the PSA Accredited Registers scheme and help deliver vital evidence-based healthcare solutions to those most in need in the UK public.’
To find an acupuncturist regulated by the British Acupuncture Council and accredited by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care, please search our directory.
Contact: comms.manager@acupuncture.org.uk
