The UK Women's Health Strategy: What Has Changed and Why

The government has renewed its commitment to women's health. But how much will really change in practice?

The UK government published a renewed Women's Health Strategy in April 2026, setting out reforms aimed at addressing longstanding failures in how the NHS identifies, assesses and treats women. The strategy was published by the Department of Health and Social Care alongside NHS England, and covers gynaecological care, menopause support, pain management, menstrual health education and women's involvement in their own care decisions.

What the strategy commits to

The commitments directly relevant to women's hormonal and gynaecological health include a new standard of care for pain relief during invasive gynaecological procedures, including coil fittings and hysteroscopies. Gynaecological care is to be streamlined with a single referral point to direct women to the right professional without repeat appointments. Over 565,000 women are currently waiting for gynaecological care in England.

Endometriosis, which now takes an average of nine years and four months to diagnose in the UK, rising to eleven years for women from diverse ethnic communities, is specifically named as a condition requiring faster access to diagnosis and treatment. From this year, the standard NHS Health Check offered to adults aged 40 to 74 will include a question about menopause symptoms, giving up to five million women a more direct route to advice and support. A new £1 million programme to improve menstrual health education in schools has been announced alongside a £1.5 million Femtech challenge fund.

The reality of pain management today

The strategy's commitment on pain relief deserves close scrutiny, because the current clinical picture is considerably worse than the announcement implies.

The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare guidance does not mandate routine anaesthetic for coil fittings. It states only that pain relief "should be discussed with women in advance." That is a recommendation to have a conversation, not a requirement to provide pain relief. As recently as 2024, only two in three patients were being offered anaesthetic for coil fittings, despite existing guidance recommending it be discussed. For outpatient hysteroscopy and endometrial procedures, NHS guidance states that local anaesthetic "should be considered" in certain circumstances, not that it must be offered routinely.

In practice, women across the UK continue to undergo invasive gynaecological procedures, including coil fittings, hysteroscopies and endometrial biopsies, without any anaesthetic or pain relief being offered. The strategy commits to producing a new standard of care to address this. What it does not do is make pain relief a legal entitlement or set a timeline for when that standard will be implemented and enforced.

Women's feedback linked to provider funding

One notable element of the strategy is a new trial in which women's feedback on their care experience will be directly linked to provider funding. Where services are found to have failed to listen to women, funding may be withheld and redirected to targeted improvements. The previous Health Secretary Wes Streeting described the aim as ensuring that dismissing women's pain has financial consequences for providers.

What clinicians and organisations have said

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists welcomed the strategy but was clear that delivery requires sustained investment and transparent progress reporting. The chief executive of Endometriosis UK noted that diagnosis times for the condition are currently rising, not falling, and that commitments must be matched with a clear roadmap and adequate resources.

The gap between commitment and delivery

Several of the organisations responding to the strategy's publication drew a clear distinction between political commitment and funded delivery. Commitments around endometriosis, menopause care and gynaecology waiting lists appeared in the original Women's Health Strategy in 2022. Progress since then has been uneven, and the renewed strategy does not include binding timelines for most of its commitments.

For women in England navigating hormonal health conditions and gynaecological procedures today, the strategy signals continued political attention on this area. The standards of care it promises are not yet enforceable, and women attending NHS appointments for procedures including coil fittings, hysteroscopies and biopsies are not currently guaranteed to be offered pain relief. That is the gap this strategy says it intends to close.

Reference

Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England. Women's voices to be at the heart of renewed health strategy. Gov.uk press release, 14 April 2026.

Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare. Intrauterine contraception clinical guideline.

Editorial Notes

This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. If you have concerns about your health, speak to a qualified healthcare professional.