Women and girls are being failed by the NHS and Government ‘at every stage’ as their health is not sufficiently prioritised, MPs have warned.
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’, a report by the Women and Equalities Committee says.
Remarkably, initiatives that have proved successful in cutting waits and improving access, such as dedicated women’s health hubs, are at risk of closure because of funding cuts.
The cross-party group of MPs described the move as a ‘disaster’ for women and ‘self-defeating’ for the Government, given its 10 Year Health Plan stresses the need to move more care out of hospitals and into the community.
Meanwhile, women seeking care continue to be subject to ‘medical misogyny’, with their concerns dismissed and unnecessarily painful treatments delivered without adequate pain relief.
The report says there is a need for ‘systemic change’ in health, education and online to support women and girls to better understand their health and receive the right care.
To date, there has been too little emphasis on educating girls on menstruation and period problems that can arise, leading to delays in diagnosing conditions that can result in complications if left untreated, it adds.
Witnesses told the WEC inquiry of a school nurse system that is increasingly ‘under-resourced’, with many schools now lacking any access to a nurse, who would often be the first port-of-call for girls needing help with their menstrual health for the first time.
Young women and girls report their concerns around periods are being ignored by the wider healthcare workforce, they are being wrongly told they are too young to get a menstrual health condition such as endometriosis, and are being prescribed hormonal medication to manage pain without discussion or investigation of underlying causes.
MPs note that women and girls increasingly access health advice on social media, despite some of it being ‘inaccurate and potentially harmful’.
But the Government’s use of these sites to provide more accurate information on menstrual health ‘has been poor’ and falls ‘far short’ of what is needed, they warn.
The WEC calls on the Government and NHS to do more to communicate effectively in these areas and even suggests they develop their own healthcare apps, such as period trackers, so women are not left to depend on ‘ineffective, unsafe and exploitative’ commercial ones that sell their personal data for profit.
The Government’s renewal of the Women’s Health Strategy for England, expected this spring, will be ‘inadequate’ if it fails to address concerns over pain management, staff training and retention and timely diagnoses, the report cautions.
Until menstrual and gynaecological healthcare are embedded as priorities within health and education reforms, MPs ‘lack confidence’ that improvements in girls’ and women’s care will be achieved, the Committee concluded.
Labour MP Sarah Owen, who chairs the WEC, said: ‘The Committee is not convinced that the menstrual and gynaecological needs of young women and girls has been sufficiently prioritised in wider reforms to the healthcare system.
‘Initiatives which have proven to be successful in reducing waiting lists and improving women’s access to healthcare, such as women’s health hubs, risk being scaled back or discontinued as part of wider reforms.
‘This would be a disaster for girls’ and women’s menstrual healthcare, when it is in dire need of more support.
‘Our inquiry has shown that too many girls and young women are still being let down by a system that fails them at every stage, from the lack of access to a school nurse to dismissal in primary care, and they continue to face unnecessarily painful procedures in diagnosis of relatively common conditions.
‘The imminent renewal of the Women’s Health Strategy for England presents an opportunity for tangible change for girls and women.
‘A strategy which does not address the concerns set out in this report will be inadequate.’
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the government is ‘making women’s health a priority’.
They added: ‘Our renewed Women’s Health Strategy will give women a genuine voice and power over their health.’
