A regional publisher has sent an open letter to the UK’s health ministers calling for urgent action to improve endometriosis care.

As previously reported, National World launched its Endo the Battle campaign across its English, Scottish and Northern Irish titles, to tell the stories of women battling to access care for the painful condition.

The campaign, which coincides with Endometrosis Awareness Month, aims to amplify the voices of those battling to get a diagnosis, navigate the financial impact of the condition and even access essential care.

Sufferers were invited to take part in an anonymous survey, with almost 400 people sharing their stories of living with the systemic inflammatory condition.

Now National World is urging ministers to end the “cycle of suffering” in an open letter sent to health secretary Wes Streeting and his equivalents in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The campaign has been spearheaded by Sarah McCann, pictured, a health writer across the National World portfolio.

She said: “I spoke to women across the UK who told me of lengthy waiting lists, a normalisation of symptoms, struggles to get referrals and lack of endometriosis knowledge at every step of the healthcare pathway.

“Many explained they felt they had no choice but to make the challenging decision of going private or travelling outside of their region to access care they should be able to get on the NHS.

“We were inundated with responses to our survey, which highlights the need for a commitment to tackle lengthy diagnosis delays and waiting lists, and a complete overhaul of endometriosis education.

“In our open letter, we are calling on health ministers to act now to change the tide. If nothing changes, the cycle of suffering, endured by so many, is set to continue.

“We’re now hoping to present our findings with the Health Secretary – and get this moving for women across the UK.”