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• Top priorities to be tackled under the Women鈥檚 Health Strategy in 2024 include menstrual problems and menopause, maternity care and birth trauma support
• Support for domestic and sexual abuse victims and women in the criminal justice system will also be improved
• Health Secretary addresses women鈥檚 health champions at major London event to outline plans for coming year and celebrate successes of strategy鈥檚 first year
• Successes since the launch include reducing the cost of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and the rollout of women鈥檚 health hubs
• 拢50 million for research to tackle maternity disparities

The Health and Social Care Secretary has named problem periods, women鈥檚 health research and support for domestic and sexual abuse victims among the government鈥檚 priorities for women鈥檚 health in 2024.聽

Speaking at the Women鈥檚 Health Summit in central London to mark the second year of the landmark Women鈥檚 Health Strategy for England, Victoria Atkins said it would also prioritise improving maternity care and support for mothers who suffer birth trauma.

This follows a raft of successes over the strategy鈥檚 first 12 months, including reducing the cost of HRT for nearly half a million women, and the rollout of specialist women鈥檚 health hubs in every local health area. The strategy also championed the creation of a new dedicated , providing updated information, advice and practical resources for聽women鈥檚 health across the聽life course.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Victoria Atkins, said:聽聽

We鈥檙e breaking historical barriers that prevent women getting the care they need, building greater understanding of women鈥檚 healthcare issues and ensuring their voices and choices are listened to.聽

We鈥檝e made huge progress - enabling almost half a million women access to cheaper HRT, supporting women through the agony of pregnancy loss and opening new women鈥檚 health hubs - but I absolutely recognise there is more to do.聽

We鈥檙e ensuring these changes benefit all women, regardless of socioeconomic background or ethnicity, because our Women鈥檚 Health Strategy is only a success if it works for all women.

The 2024 priorities were developed from responses to the government鈥檚 call for evidence from over 100,000 healthcare professionals, women鈥檚 health champions, members of the public and other stakeholders across the health sector.聽They are:

• better care for menstrual and gynaecological conditions鈥�- by rolling out women鈥檚 health hubs, producing new guidance for healthcare professionals, continuing to improve information and support for women suffering from painful heavy periods and endometriosis, and promoting easier access to contraception - which often plays a vital role in managing menstrual problems. The Office for National Statistics will investigate the impact of period problems and endometriosis on women鈥檚 participation and progress at work, improving聽our understanding to achieve reductions in diagnosis times

• expanding women鈥檚 health hubs - by鈥痙elivering through our 拢25 million investment, the hubs will improve women鈥檚 access to care, improve health outcomes and reduce health inequalities. We are working towards the aim of establishing one fully functioning hub in every local area this year, enabling better access and quality of care in services for menstrual problems, contraception, pelvic pain, menopause care and more

• tackling disparities and improving support for vulnerable women鈥痠ncluding victims of sexual abuse and violence by ensuring training and support systems are working collaboratively and efficiently. This will include creating new models within the NHS to protect its staff. We will focus on improving the health of women in the justice system, by implementing the recommendations set out in the National Women鈥檚 Prison Health and Social Care Review

• bolstering maternity care, before during and after pregnancy - by continuing to deliver on NHS England鈥檚 and ensuring women understand the care they can expect from the NHS during pregnancy and after giving birth. We will also be supporting women who suffer with birth trauma and ensure both mental and physical health are prioritised. A greater focus will be placed on preconception and postnatal care for women, raising awareness of pregnancy sickness and actioning the recommendations set out in the Pregnancy Loss Review.聽Through the first ever National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) 鈥榗hallenge鈥�, backed by 拢50 million, researchers, policymakers and women will be tasked with finding new ways to tackle maternity disparities

• more research鈥�- a vital component to levelling up the playing field for women鈥檚 health. In addition to the NIHR challenge, we are building on the 拢53 million invested via the NIHR programmes and will continue to improve how women are represented in medical research through the

Minister for Women鈥檚 Health, Maria Caulfield, said:聽聽

Helping women and girls who suffer from bad periods can make a huge difference to their lives, education and careers. And any woman who has experienced trauma after giving birth - either mentally or physically - will know the impact it can have on all aspects of her life.聽

These are issues that impact women but they should not be seen as 鈥榳omen鈥檚 problems鈥� - it is an everyone problem. We are doing more to put these issues on the agenda and keep them there, to close the gender health gap once and for all.

We鈥檝e made enormous strides in the first year of the strategy and I鈥檓 excited to see what 2024 will bring.

As well as announcing its new priorities, the government announced the reappointment of Professor Dame Lesley Regan as Women鈥檚 Health Ambassador for England for a further 2 years, to December 2025.聽聽聽

Professor Dame Lesley was appointed as the Women鈥檚 Health Ambassador in 2022 and brings a raft of expertise spanning a 44-year career in women鈥檚 health as a practising clinician. She has specialised in core areas including miscarriage, period problems, gynaecological surgery and menopause.聽

Professor Dame Lesley Regan, Women鈥檚 Health Ambassador, said:鈥�

Our Women鈥檚 Health Strategy is ambitious. It was created to ensure our healthcare system places women鈥檚 health on an equal footing to men.聽

I want women everywhere to feel confident that when they seek advice from their healthcare professional, whether it鈥檚 for heavy or painful periods or issues following birth, they know they are going to receive world-class treatment. This is the ultimate goal of the strategy, and I am delighted that we have made such positive progress in the first year and generated so much enthusiastic help to succeed.

This coming year offers us the opportunity of taking further steps forward in delivering better healthcare outcomes for every woman in our society.

Chief Nursing Officer for England, Ruth May, said:

The NHS is committed to ensuring women鈥檚 individual healthcare needs are met, which is why every area of England is being supported to develop a women鈥檚 health hub alongside the rollout of a network of Women鈥檚 Health Champions, who will use their leadership and experience to drive forward work to improve women鈥檚 health.

The NHS is also rolling out dedicated pelvic health clinics, and every local health system now has a specialist community perinatal mental health team and we have also made it easier to access contraception through local pharmacies.

But there is clearly more to do which is why it is brilliant to see the publication of the women鈥檚 health priorities for 2024.

CEO of Endometriosis UK, Emma Cox, said:

Women鈥檚 health has long been an underfunded and under-researched area. Implementing the aspirations in the Women鈥檚 Health Strategy will provide a much needed boost to turning this around, improving treatment and the lives of those suffering from endometriosis and menstrual health conditions.

At Endometriosis UK, we know that many women face an unacceptable delay in securing a diagnosis and appropriate care.聽With sufficient funding and support, women鈥檚 health hubs could offer a real opportunity to drive down diagnosis times and support women to access the support they need.

We鈥檙e delighted Professor Dame Lesley Regan has been reappointed and we look forward to continuing to support her vital and much needed work to deliver the key priorities outlined within the Women鈥檚 Health Strategy.

Dr Ranee Thakar, President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said:

We are pleased to see the government launching their 2024 priorities for the women鈥檚 health strategy at our Union Street home, also the location of 15 other women鈥檚 health organisations.

The focus on improving care and treatment for women with gynaecological conditions such as endometriosis and fibroids, which are often progressive, and have a huge impact on a woman鈥檚 quality of life, is hugely welcome. We have continually called for action to improve waiting lists in gynaecology services and know that women鈥檚 health hubs present a real opportunity to improve women鈥檚 health outcomes, and reduce inequalities in access and outcomes for women across the country. I am also glad to see that ensuring high quality care following birth trauma, an area of care which has long been a professional and personal passion of mine, has been recognised as a key focus for government.

We also want to congratulate our former president, Professor Dame Lesley Regan, for her excellent leadership of the women鈥檚 health agenda at a national level and her well-deserved reappointment as Women鈥檚 Health Ambassador. As a dedicated advocate for a life course approach to women鈥檚 health, we have every faith she will continue to provide excellent leadership to drive the strategy forward.

Background information

Over the past year, a range of new actions have begun to make England one of the best places to be for women鈥檚 health:聽

• between launch on 1 April and 31 December, 484,082 HRT prescription prepayment certificates were purchased, saving women millions of pounds in ongoing prescription charges
• by making it as easy as possible for women to get the lifesaving human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and increasing cervical screening uptake
• the relaunched to enable community pharmacies to initiate oral contraception. Almost 3,000 pharmacies have already signed, making access to contraception easier
• between launch in July 2023 and early January, there were 102,872 visits to the new women鈥檚 health area on the NHS website and 1.26 million visits to its new
• in September last year, we improved鈥�IVF鈥痶ransparency through an accessible new tool on 188体育 to allow people to look up information about鈥�狈贬厂-蹿耻苍诲别诲鈥�IVF鈥痶谤别补迟尘别苍迟鈥痠n their area

There have been various cross-government initiatives to support women in the workplace, including:聽

• appointing recruitment and employability expert Helen Tomlinson as the government鈥檚鈥�Menopause Employment Champion to improve support for menopause in the workplace
• the government announced 拢12.4 million to help change choices about work, which included 6 ground-breaking projects including an investigation looking at how endometriosis impacts women in the workplace

Read the government鈥檚鈥痳esponse to the independent Pregnancy Loss Review. The government will continue to involve the Pregnancy Loss Review leads Zoe Clark-Coates and Samantha Collinge in rolling out the recommendations.聽

Read details on the鈥�拢25 million investment in women鈥檚 health hubs鈥痑nd cost-benefit analysis.

The NIHR, alongside other organisations, recently published a .