Providers that fail to listen to women could have funding cut, says women’s health strategy

Providers that fail to listen to women could have NHS funding withheld under the government’s renewed Women’s Health Strategy published today.

The government said the renewed strategy would ‘put women’s experiences at the centre of care’ and help ensure women are better heard and served

This will include a new trial in which women’s feedback can be ‘directly linked’ to provider funding with the possibility of withholding money that would be redirected into targeted improvements.

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The aim is to ensure services are ‘held accountable for listening to women, in a bid to stamp out long-standing issues with women being ignored’, the government said.

Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting said: ‘We need to hit medical misogyny where it hurts – the wallet.’

He said women have been let down by a healthcare system that ‘too often gaslights women, treating their pain as an inconvenience and their symptoms as an overreaction’.

‘Whether it’s being passed from one appointment to another for conditions like endometriosis and fibroids, or a lack of proper pain relief during invasive procedures, through to having to navigate symptoms for years before receiving a diagnosis, it’s clear the system is failing women.

‘Women’s voices must be central to delivering effective, respectful and empathetic care,’ said Mr Streeting

The strategy also aims to ‘tackle outdated and misogynistic practices’ around pain relief.

A new standard of care will be produced to ensure women are offered appropriate and effective pain relief for invasive gynaecological procedures, such as contraceptive fitting, to address long-standing concerns around inadequate pain management.

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And there are plans to ‘ensure faster access’ to services for conditions such as endometriosis and fibroids, to streamline gynaecology care and to cut waiting lists.

The strategy also includes redesigning clinical pathways for heavy periods, specialist centres, improving menstrual education, better access to contraceptive and abortion care, and reviewing support for families who experience repeated baby loss.

Dr Sue Mann, NHS England’s clinical director for women’s health, said the renewed strategy would build on the work already being done in the NHS ‘with a focus on bringing down waiting times, delivering more care in communities, and giving women more choice over their care’.

‘We have come a long way in the last decade with women’s health being talked about more but there are still parts of society and the health system that are trapped in outdated thinking.

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‘Too many women are still dismissed for serious symptoms that impact on every part of their lives, whether that’s menstrual pain, irregular periods, or hot flushes and brain fog that affect many women experiencing the menopause,’ said Dr Mann.