WID-easy Early Adoption Programme at ESNEFT Makes National News
- Hannah Hunt
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
BBC News Highlights How WID-easy Is Improving Women’s Experiences in Gynaecology Care
The WID-easy early adoption programme at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) has received national attention following a recent BBC News feature exploring how the innovative womb cancer test is improving patient experience within gynaecology services.
The article focused on the experience of Angela Ransby, a patient at Ipswich Hospital, who described feeling that “women’s health was being taken seriously” after being offered the WID-easy test as part of the Trust’s new pathway for investigating abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) and post-menopausal bleeding (PMB).
A Less Invasive Test for Womb Cancer
For many women referred into urgent suspected cancer pathways, the prospect of invasive investigations such as hysteroscopy or biopsy can cause significant anxiety.
Angela Ransby arrived at her appointment expecting tests she feared would be painful and uncomfortable. Instead, she was offered the WID-easy test - a simple cervicovaginal swab designed to help triage women at risk of womb cancer.
Her clinician explained:
“If you'd have come in a week ago or two weeks ago, we wouldn't have been able to offer you what we can offer you now.”
Angela described the experience as transformative:
“It's not my experience to go to women's health in the NHS and come out thinking, ‘Bloody hell, that was good, that was even tolerable.’”
After years of living with severe endometriosis and undergoing multiple major procedures, she said the new approach gave her confidence that women’s healthcare experiences were beginning to improve.
“I’m a real champion of it now.”
NHS Clinicians Welcome a Faster, Kinder Diagnostic Pathway
The BBC report also highlighted the positive response from clinicians involved in the ESNEFT early adoption programme.
Dr Wendy MacNab, Consultant Gynae-Oncologist and Clinical Director for Gynaecology at ESNEFT, described the introduction of WID-easy as:
“A real pleasure” and “a no brainer”.
She added:
“When I can offer something that’s quicker, less invasive, more accurate, less uncomfortable to go through - why would I want to offer a less effective service?”
Dr MacNab also spoke about the wider impact on clinical teams across the Trust:
“There’s a little positive glow we’ve all got from it.”
As conversations continue around women’s experiences in healthcare, minimally invasive innovations such as WID-easy are helping NHS organisations rethink how patients experience gynaecology diagnostics.
What Is the WID-easy Test?
WID-easy is a molecular triage test designed for peri- and post-menopausal patients aged 45 years and older presenting with abnormal uterine bleeding.
The test uses a simple cervicovaginal swab to measure DNA methylation markers associated with womb cancer (endometrial cancer).
Unlike traditional ultrasound-led pathways, WID-easy can help identify women at very low risk of cancer while prioritising rapid investigation for those requiring further assessment.
Results are typically available within days rather than weeks.
A New Direction for Women’s Health Diagnostics
The BBC coverage of the ESNEFT early adoption programme reflects a wider shift in women’s healthcare.
For many patients and clinicians alike, WID-easy represents an important step towards a more compassionate and efficient approach to womb cancer testing.
