Health experts have called for a greater focus on care for older
women and improved support services for people experiencing
pregnancy loss to help shape the government’s first-ever Women’s
Health Strategy for England.
A total of 436 organisations and experts in women’s health -
including from the charity sector, academia, professional bodies,
clinicians and royal colleges - responded to a call for evidence
to inform the government’s approach to tackling gender health
inequality.
In their submissions, published today (Wednesday 13 April), they
called for a greater focus on the health needs of older women who
can experience the same conditions as men in different ways,
suggested improvements in training on menopause for healthcare
professionals and highlighted the disparity in the provision of
pregnancy loss support services.
The insight is in addition to nearly 100,000 responses from
individuals, which together will inform the upcoming Women’s
Health Strategy to create a healthcare system that prioritises
care on the basis of clinical need, not gender.
Minister for Women’s Health said:
For generations, women have lived in a healthcare system
primarily designed by men, for men. We are committed to tackling
the gender health gap, and the publication of our strategy later
this year will mark a significant step forward.
I want to thank the expert individuals and organisations who took
the time to respond to our call for evidence. The insights you
have provided have been stark and sobering, but will be pivotal
to ensuring our strategy represents the first hand experiences of
the health care system.
Topics highlighted were:
- Menstrual health and gynaecological conditions, including the
impact of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) on someone’s quality of
life.
- Fertility, pregnancy, pregnancy loss and maternal health,
including women not feeling listened to during and after
pregnancy and the provision of bereavement support services.
- Menopause, including suggestions for improvements in training
and guidelines for healthcare professionals.
- Gynaecological and other cancers, including barriers to
accessing high-quality, up to date information on risk factors
for female cancers.
- Mental health, including its interaction with other health
conditions across women’s life course.
- Healthy ageing, including the need to increase focus on the
health needs of older women and emphasise women may experience
the same conditions as men in different ways.
- Violence against women and girls, including the complications
associated with hymenoplasty and barriers to accessing healthcare
support for those who’ve been subject to years of violence and
abuse
The call to evidence ran from March to June 2021 and generated
110,123 responses. The Women’s Health Strategy will be
published later this year.
Background information
