Local MP welcomes new national plan to overhaul women’s healthcare

Marie Tidball, Member of Parliament for Penistone and Stocksbridge, welcomed the Government’s Renewed Women’s Health Strategy for England - announced this week - promising a fairer, healthier future for women and girls everywhere.

The Government has acknowledged that the NHS has a problem with basic, everyday sexism and an appalling culture of medical misogyny. The Strategy commits to transforming NHS performance in services that matter most to women, meaning more timely and accurate diagnoses, speedier treatment, and sympathetic care that means many more women do not suffer avoidable pain and distress.

This includes introducing a new single referral point for women and cutting years long wait lists for conditions like endometriosis. A new standard of care will also be produced to ensure women are finally offered appropriate and effective pain relief for invasive gynaecological procedures - from contraceptive fitting through to hysteroscopies - addressing long-standing concerns around inadequate pain management.

The new plan commits to putting women’s experiences at the centre of care, ensuring patient’s voices are listened to and acted upon, including exploring ways in which women’s feedback can be directly linked to provider funding and targeted improvements through a new trial.

The move aims to ensure services are held accountable for listening to women, in a bid to stamp out long-standing issues with women being ignored.

The Stategy follows a raft of measures the Government has introduced since taking office to improve women’s health, including: making the morning after pill free in pharmacies across England; cutting gynecology waiting lists by more than 30,000; and including menopause questions in routine NHS health checks for over 40s.

The Strategy also comes as waiting lists fall to their lowest level in three years, alongside the best ambulance times in five years, and the best A&E performance in four years.

__Dr Marie Tidball MP, said: __

“The blunt reality is that the NHS is failing women and girls on even the most basic measures of healthcare. I know from my own experience, particularly of maternity care, that being ignored, gaslit, humiliated and disrespected are all-too-common experiences for far too many women.

“I’m incredibly proud that the renewed Women’s Health Strategy commits to ending this injustice. It’s brilliant to see that women’s voices will be at the heart of this new plan, ensuring that we are all treated with dignity and respect within the healthcare system.”

__Wes Streeting MP, Health and Social Care Secretary, said: __

“We inherited a broken NHS, which was particularly felt by women, who have for so long 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. We need to hit medical misogyny where it hurts - the wallet. Today’s renewed strategy will tackle the issues women face everyday and ensure no woman is left fighting to be heard.”