Women's Hospital gains national Endometriosis accreditation
Laparoscopy and Gynaecology teams at Birmingham Women's Hospital have earned British Society of Gynaecological Endoscopy accreditation for their care of patients with endometriosis.
Endometriosis is a condition which affects around one in ten women of reproductive age, causing in many cases debilitating pelvic pains and in some cases infertility, due to the displacement of tissue, similar to endometrial tissue that lines the uterus. Often mistaken for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or intense menstrual cramps, Endometriosis can take an average of seven years to diagnose.
The accreditation will help our Women’s Hospital to reassure our patients and encourage women to speak up about suspected endometriosis. Often many women dismiss their pains and will not seek support until later stages. Seeking treatment earlier can alleviate pain through Laparoscopic ‘key-hole’ surgery and while Endometriosis is incurable, it can be managed through medical support and home remedies.
Dr Yousri Afifi, Consultant Gynaecologist, said: “It’s really important to us that we can provide emotional reassurance to our patients just as much as the factual diagnosis. Women often visit us after long periods of time either dismissing their own pain or allowing others to dismiss their pain. We’re proud to be accredited so that we can be advocates for women going through Endometriosis.”
The accreditation has allowed our Women’s Hospital to be named as one of the top three centres for endometriosis across the UK, helping women to improve their quality of life with this condition. In order to obtain the accreditation, our teams had to produce a series of surgical laparoscopy videos to the British Society of Gynaecological Endoscopy for assessment. Our key-hole surgery had to read 90% in each evaluation for our Women’s Hospital to become accredited.