We talk about the gender wealth gap, but did you also know there is a gender health gap? And it’s killing women. Sioned Williams MS writes about the lack of mention of women’s health – including maternity provision – in the Welsh Government’s existing long-term plan for health and social services, which is incurring a significant cost burden, not to mention a burden on the health of too many women across Wales.
From being prescribed anti-depressants by your doctor for chronic pain, to being diagnosed with a panic attack when having an actual heart attack, these are real experiences from real women in Wales and they’re a symptom of a wider issue – a lack of a bespoke women’s health strategy for Wales.
This week it’s my privilege to open a debate on women’s health, and it’s also a source of deep regret that we live in a society where the importance of women’s health in any nation-wise health plan needs spelling out because we are in the quite frankly ridiculous situation where the health and social care plan for Wales – which rightly mentions the need to address health inequality – does not identify gender as one of the factors in this inequality and the reality is that this gender health gap is just as prominent as the gender pay gap in modern Wales.
