A new women’s health strategy has just been published by the Department of Health and Social care, with the aim being to drive improvements in the health and wellbeing of females in England, tackling the gender health gap head on.
On average, women here in the UK do live longer than men, but comparatively they spend a significantly greater proportion of their lives in ill health and disability.
Currently, there is not enough focus placed on issues like menopause or miscarriage and women are also underrepresented when it comes to clinical trials… which this new health strategy hopes to address.
The document sets out what action will be taken to improve how the healthcare system listens to women’s voices and how it intends to boost health outcomes. A life course approach will be taken, with a focus on understanding the changing health and care needs of women throughout their lives.
The ambition over the next ten years is for the strategy to have not only boosted health outcomes for all women and girls but also to have driven radical improvements in how the system engages and listens to this demographic.
Welcoming the news, Rob Yeldham – director of policy with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists – said: “It is imperative that women’s voices are heard and that their lived experiences are acknowledged and better understood in order to shape and improve services within the NHS.
“But to deliver on these recommendations we need to ensure we specifically listen to and co-design services with the voices of women who are marginalised due to race, class and disability, for example, and who disproportionately struggle to access rehabilitation services
“The physiotherapy workforce will be key to achieving all these goals as they play a vital role in supporting women in many areas, not least with pelvic prolapse and gynaecological-related pain which was found to be one of the top areas where barriers existed in accessing these services.”
If you’re currently experiencing any pain of this kind and need some help or advice, get in touch with us here at Maidenhead physio centre Clear Physio today.
