This week, NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care launched Change NHS: help build a health service fit for the future, a national conversation to develop the 10-Year Health Plan.
This consultation is an opportunity to shape how the health and care system supports women and girls throughout their lives in future. Despite making up 51% of the population, we know that women’s health care is not prioritised, under resourced and fragmented. This means vital opportunities to offer timely and high quality care, and to help women live longer in good health, are currently being missed.
Repeatedly, women and girls ‘fall through the gaps’ of government policy. This is particularly true for Black, Asian and minority ethnic women, who have worse outcomes and experiences than white women across many aspects of women’s health in the UK.
We know staff in obstetrics and gynaecology care, and wider women’s health services, are working tirelessly in challenging circumstances to provide high quality, compassionate care. We know many of the solutions to improving services and health outcomes are already known, but lack funding and system-wide support for implementation.
As such, we urge the public, our UK Members and Fellows, and all those working in women’s health services to feed into the consultation. This is an opportunity to ensure the voices of women and girls in England, and the women’s health workforce, are heard and influence future NHS priorities.
Members of the public, and those working in health and care in England, can submit an online response here – ‘Start Here’. You can share your views on the changes that are most needed for women and girls in England. You can also share views on what is working well and should be built on to help more women and girls get the information, support and care they deserve.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists will be responding to the questionnaire for organisations. The deadline for this is Monday 2 December, and the five questions are included at the end of this article.
We will be sharing more information on how you can help to shape our response.