The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy for England

The Government has published the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy for England to take forward the work of the previous Government under the Women's Health Strategy for England (August 2022). It is intended to help address a range of issues such as the more than eight in 10 say there have been times when healthcare professionals did not listen to them as well as health inequalities - women spend more years in ill health than men, despite living longer – with the latest ONS figures identifying that women in the poorest parts of the country spend only 62 per cent of their lives in good health compared to 68 per cent for men (in the wealthiest areas) men spend 83 per cent of their lives in good health and women 79 per cent. There are also ethnic differences in outcomes and risk factors.

A swell as focussing on menstrual/reproductive health, the Strategy reflects the 10-Year Health Plan with a view to moving more of women’s healthcare into the community and the importance of education and prevention through prioritising health education in schools, communities and healthcare settings to empower women with the knowledge and tools they need to help control their fertility, prepare for the best pregnancy outcomes and navigate the inevitability of the menopause. The Strategy also recognises the need to understand what women can do to postpone the onset of disorders that will exert the most damaging impact on the length and quality of their lives: heart disease, dementia, as well as bone and musculoskeletal (MSK) problems which lead to frailty and dependency.

Fergal Monsell, BOA President, said,

“The revised strategy is welcome but fails to join-up existing policies to address the musculoskeletal health conditions that impact women disproportionately. This reflects the inadequate awareness and focus by the NHS on musculoskeletal health has on women’s lives.

“The Government is committed to reducing economic inactivity and to reducing waiting lists to achieve the NHS Constitution target. Analysis by the TUC using ONS data on changes in economic inactivity between the end of 2018 and end of 2023 looked at the main health conditions of those who are economically inactive due to long-term sickness. It found that the number of women economically inactive due to musculoskeletal (MSK) issues (arms, hands, legs, feet, back and neck problems) increased by 126,000 (+47%).

“MSK conditions, such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis disproportionately impact females. In 2023 in England, estimates suggest 35.1% (10.4 million) of females compared to 26.6% (7.5 million) of males were affected by a MSK condition. The Strategy should be used as a lever to address the Trauma and Orthopaedic waiting lists, the largest waiting list by specialty, which remains stubbornly high and is likely to be a contributing factor should the Government fail to deliver on its 18-weeks RTT commitment.

“Half of women over 50 (and 1 in 5 men) will break a bone due to osteoporosis, the UK’s fourth biggest cause of disability and early death – and the reaffirmation in the of the Government’s commitment to delivering universal Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) across England by 2030 is welcome.

“It is also unfortunate that the Strategy did not draw attention to the success of the ‘Getting it Right First Time’ pilots supporting people with MSK conditions which contributed to a 20 percent cut in 18 plus week community MSK waiting lists in 17 areas and enabled people to return to work sooner.”