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Topics: Women's Health, Health, Advice, NHS, UK News
Rhianna Benson
Topics: Women's Health, Health, Advice, NHS, UK News
A government-backed Women's Health Strategy was rolled out in England earlier this month.
On its roster is a promise to provide pain relief to girls undergoing notoriously painful medical procedures, for which doctors previously advised, 'Take some ibuprofen beforehand'.
The report pledges to empower women by providing a stronger say in their care, and to improve access, control, and care pathways for female conditions using new digital tools.
"We have come a long way in the last decade with women’s health being talked about more, but there are still parts of society and the health system that are trapped in outdated thinking," Sue Mann, NHS England's clinical director of women's health, explained.
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"Too many women are still dismissed for serious symptoms that impact on every part of their lives, whether that’s menstrual pain, irregular periods, or hot flushes and brain fog that affect many women experiencing the menopause.
"The renewed Women's Health Strategy will build significantly on the work the NHS has been doing to ensure women are heard and get the specialist care they need - with a focus on bringing down waiting times, delivering more care in communities and giving women more choice over their care."
One key manifesto point is offering effective pain relief for invasive procedures.
Previously, no such relief was available for procedures like IUD fittings and cervical biopsies, with patients with low pain thresholds regularly being told to dose up on over-the-counter painkillers.
In the short-term, the report promises 'fewer painful procedures without informed consent or a choice of pain relief'.
Within three years, there are plans to 'co-produce with women standards of care for the delivery of gynaecological procedures such as hysteroscopy, ensuring all women give informed consent and are offered a choice of pain relief'
Other 'immediate' changes that leaders hope to implement include shorter waits for gynaecology care and more accessible contraception, as well as tests and screenings located close to home and more female-focused digital therapeutics.
Discussing the new strategy, the UK's Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, claimed: "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."
He added: "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 every day and ensure no woman is left fighting to be heard."
Responding to the news, several Instagram users reflected on their past experiences of intimate procedures with no pain relief.
"I’ve been putting off my smear test since the last one, when they did a biopsy without even warning me," one revealed.
Another claimed: "Hysteroscopy - also not fun! Offered gas and air by a female gyn. Male doctor, 'Can you manage without it?’"
"About time, the campaign worked," a third wrote. "Having a cervical biopsy was both agonisingly painful and traumatic. It’s bad enough worrying about what the outcome may be without having to put up with the pain."