THE UK’s Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, has relaunched the Women’s Health Strategy for England on 14th April 2026, following a 4th March report from the Women and Equalities Committee highlighting that women’s health has been overlooked in NHS reforms, partly driven by “medical misogyny”
The renewal comes amid rising concerns around gynaecology waiting lists, dismissal of menstrual problems in young girls, heart attack misdiagnoses, racial biases in pain treatment, decade-long waits for endometriosis diagnoses, and poor cancer care
Streeting said: “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.”
The Women and Equalities Committee
The Women and Equalities Committee welcomed the government’s plans to renew the health strategy but warned that it will not suffice should it neglect to address highlighted concerns
Sarah Owen, Chair, Women and Equalities Committee, London, UK, said: “It is a national scandal that nearly half a million women are on hospital gynaecology waiting lists when there are effective treatments that could be administered in primary and community care, if only they could access them.”
She added that the inquiry has exposed that, in particular, too many young women and girls are being failed at every stage of the healthcare system from lack of access to nurses in educational settings, to dismissal in primary care
Owen noted: “They continue to face unnecessarily painful procedures in diagnosis of relatively common conditions.”
Strategy Implementations
The government said the strategy will ensure women in England are “better heard and served” through, for example, an exploration of improved feedback loops so that services are held accountable for listening to women
Women will also reportedly be directed to the appropriate professional at first contact with the healthcare system through a single referral point, streamlining support to cut waiting lists
There will also be, the government maintained, a new standard of care whereby women are offered appropriate effective pain relief for invasive gynaecological procedures
Dr Alison Wright, President, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, London, UK, said: “For the Strategy to achieve its full potential, it is vital that it is backed by sustained investment, clear delivery plans, and transparent progress reporting
“We stand ready to work together with Government to ensure this Strategy a success.”
Featured image: Mark Adams on Adobe Stock
Author:
Anna Caldwell
