Among the new measures announced by the government is a new “patient power payment” scheme. The government says this will enable women to give feedback and report their experiences of treatment. Based on that, money will be allocated to areas needing improvement, and providers getting negative feedback could lose funding.
Gynaecology has been selected for the first trial of the scheme. In future, it could be extended to other health conditions.
There is also going to be a streamlined process for referral to appropriate clinicians with the aim of cutting down long waits for treatment.
And a new standard of care will be introduced to ensure women are offered appropriate pain relief for invasive gynaecological procedures.
Dr Alison Wright, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, welcomed the strategy but said, despite government commitments on waiting lists, “the picture for women remains deeply concerning”.
“With over 565,000 women still waiting for gynaecological care, there is a clear opportunity to embed Women’s Health Hubs within the neighbourhood health model,” she said.
The Royal Osteoporosis Society questioned the strategy, saying there is still no national plan for specialist services for the condition – which affects half of women over 50 and leaves them at risk of hip fractures – despite an earlier government commitment.
Dr Sarah Jarvis, a GP and ambassador for the Royal Osteoporosis Society, said around 2,000 lives were at stake every year “without a clear plan”.
A new strategy was “desperately needed”, Emma Cox, chief executive of Endometriosis UK, said. She said diagnosis times of more than nine years for endometeriosis were “totally unacceptable”.
“These commitments must be matched with a clear roadmap for delivery, including ensuring the necessary resources and capacity,” she said.
The Scottish government recently published phase two of a women’s health plan, which was first launched in 2021. This includes transforming services to ensure women and girls have timely access to gynaecological care.
The Welsh government launched a Women’s Health Plan in 2024 aiming to “close the gender health gap by providing better health services for women”.
In Northern Ireland, authorities have been developing a Women’s Health Action Plan.
