A doctor checking a female patient’s blood pressure
(Picture: PA Archive)Women’s healthcare in the UK is worse than that provided in China and on par with Kazakhstan, a new poll has found.
A study by the Hologic Global Women’s Healthcare Index put the state of healthcare for women in Britain below France, New Zealand and the US.
The UK scored just 60 out of 100 in the index – a drop of three points on last year. It places the UK on par with Slovenia, Poland and Kosovo.
However, Britain remained above the global average of 53.
Afghanistan was bottom, scoring 22, while Taiwan was top with 70.
Analysts cited a lack of access to preventative care, such as screening for cancer, and support with mental health issues as among the reasons for the UK’s poor score.
Dr Nighat Arif, a GP specialising in women’s health, said: “I see barriers every day in my GP practice that women face in accessing routine care and even life-saving preventative health measures, such as cervical and breast cancer screenings, that can cause unnecessary delays to diagnosis and treatment for women.
“Sadly, often [women’s pain is] seen as something to put up with, rather than something you can get support for. The reasons for pain in women are complex, and for GPs, who have a limited time for consultation, it can be difficult to pinpoint a diagnosis in one appointment.
“In recent years we have seen much-needed public conversations on common health issues among women. We need to see conversations continue ... to ensure early and accurate diagnosis of conditions.”
The survey found that, on average, women in the UK now wait nearly four months for a first appointment with a gynaecologist. Nearly 38,000 women have waited more than a year.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health said: “We have put women's health at the top of the agenda by publishing the Women's Health Strategy for England, appointing the first-ever Women's Health Ambassador and taking action to increase supply and reduce the cost of hormone replacement therapy.”
It comes after the Government on Tuesday rejected calls for a large-scale pilot of menopause leave, in a move described as a “missed opportunity” by a Commons committee.
Ministers have also resisted a recommendation from the Commons Women and Equalities Committee to make the menopause a “protected characteristic” under the Equalities Act.
Committee chairwoman Caroline Nokes questioned the Government’s commitment to the issue of menopause.
In a letter to health minister Maria Caulfield, the Conservative MP said she was disappointed that “very little new work has been committed to by the Government” in response to the committee’s report, as she expressed concern that the Government had ignored what she termed the “significant evidence base” for menopause being seen as a “protected characteristic”.
