Hysteroscopy: Standards
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will implement mandatory clinician guidelines for hysteroscopies to (a) minimise pain and (b) promote informed decision making.
Answered by Karin Smyth
The Government recognises that some procedures, such as hysteroscopy, can result in pain, and the level of pain experienced will vary between individual women. It is important that healthcare professionals provide women with information prior to their procedure so that women can make an informed decisions about the procedure and pain relief options, including the option of local or general anaesthetic.
Clinical guidelines support healthcare professionals to provide evidence-based care. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) published an updated guideline on outpatient hysteroscopy in September 2024. The updated guideline has reference to minimising pain and discomfort during hysteroscopy procedures. While RCOG guidelines are not mandatory, they are designed to support high-quality care, and the Department and NHS England encourages local implementation tailored to patient needs. This is available at the following link:
Letters and information sent to patients are determined at a local level by individual National Health Service trusts. A range of additional information is available for patients on hysteroscopy procedures, including on the NHS website, and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has created a patient information resource on hysteroscopy. This is available at the following link:
https://www.rcog.org.uk/outpatient-hysteroscopy
As with all procedures, healthcare professionals are expected to fully explain the procedure in advance, including expected symptoms, side effects, and risks. These conversations should be undertaken using a shared decision-making approach that ensures individuals are supported to make decisions that are right for them. This provides a collaborative process through which a clinician supports a patient to reach a decision about their treatment, bringing together the clinician’s expertise, such as treatment options, evidence, risks and benefits, with the patient’s preferences, personal circumstances and values. NHS England has published guidelines on the use of shared decision making.
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