More than 200 women in Cheshire were admitted to hospital last year with a chronic condition that can cause debilitatingly painful periods.

NHS Digital data shows there were around 245 hospital admissions with a main diagnosis of endometriosis in the Cheshire clinical commissioning group (CCG) area in 2019-20 — down from 260 the year before.

Endometriosis is a chronic condition – which affects around 10 per cent of women and has no known cure – in which tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows elsewhere in the body, such as around the ovaries. In extremely rare cases it can occur in men.

Prior to the creation of one unified NHS Cheshire CCG in April 2020, 70 women from Eastern Cheshire, 60 from Southern Cheshire, 70 from West Cheshire, and 45 from the Vale Royal CCG areas were admitted to hospital — with one third of cases in the final zone being emergencies.

Charity Endometriosis UK said women forced to go to hospital with endometriosis are being "let down" by the NHS, as they are not getting the treatment they need elsewhere.

Chief executive Emma Cox said the health service is not providing women with the help they need from non-emergency care and should "face up to the scale" of the problem.

She added: "We're letting these people down by not providing them with the treatment and management they need to manage their condition — endometriosis is a chronic condition but so few people get offered pain management."

But she said society in general is also responsible for not taking the condition seriously, with many people still too scared to discuss the "taboo" subject of menstrual conditions.

The charity has called on the NHS to implement NICE guidelines — which were adopted in 2017 but have not yet been implemented — to help all healthcare practitioners better recognise the symptoms of endometriosis.

In response, an NHS spokesperson said: "NHS staff have made huge efforts to maintain care for those patients who have needed it urgently throughout the pandemic and are increasingly bringing back more services safely.

"Anyone who thinks they are showing signs or symptoms of endometriosis should contact their GP for advice, treatment and referral for tests so they can get any treatment they need as quickly as possible."

March is Endometriosis Awareness Month.