NHS GPs to Offer Two New Endometriosis Tests
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- Draft NHS guidance for England and Wales recommends GPs offer two non-invasive tests — Endotest (a spit test for genetic material) and Endosure (abdominal sensor pads measuring gut electrical signals) — to help identify endometriosis in some patients.
- Endometriosis, which affects one in 10 women and involves cells like those lining the womb growing elsewhere in the body, currently carries diagnosis waits of nine years or longer on the NHS, per the source.
- Ami Robertson, 23, a Glasgow Pilates instructor, said she experienced pain from age 16 but was repeatedly told she likely had IBS before paying privately for checks that confirmed her diagnosis.
- Sharan Uppal, 46, from Huddersfield, said she lost count of GP visits for her daughter Simran and ended up in A&E three to four times — once for over 10 hours — before paying for the gut test, which came back strongly positive and unlocked a referral.
- Endotest is already in use in a pilot NHS study, while Endosure is part of a clinical study at Worcestershire Acute NHS Hospital Trust; patients fast six to eight hours and drink water for 45 minutes during the gut test.
- The main current NHS method for diagnosing endometriosis is laparoscopy under general anaesthetic, and neither new test is designed to act as a standalone diagnostic, the source notes.
- Emma Cox, chief executive of Endometriosis UK, welcomed the move but said availability must go hand-in-hand with GP and practice nurse education so symptoms stop being dismissed.
Why it matters: For the one in 10 women with endometriosis, the current NHS diagnostic path can run nine years or more — Uppal's daughter visited A&E three to four times, once for over 10 hours, before a private gut test unlocked a referral. The draft guidance gives GPs non-invasive screening options, though the source flags these aren't standalone diagnostics.
