NHS 'failing women and girls' and has 'appalling culture of medical misogyny', health secretary says

The health secretary has accused the NHS of having an "appalling culture of medical misogyny" as he set out a range of measures in a renewed Women's Health Strategy.

Wes Streeting said the NHS has a problem with "basic, everyday sexism" - and that the changes would stop women from being "ignored, gaslit, humiliated and disrespected".

The strategy reveals how women's health outcomes "have gone in the wrong direction" - with a drop in female life expectancy, and figures suggesting only the wealthiest third of women can expect to remain in good health until retirement.

The authors highlight how gynaecology waiting times have more than doubled in eight years, higher rates of heart attack misdiagnosis for women, and decade-long waits for endometriosis diagnoses.

Issues in cancer care and reviews into poor maternity care were also identified.

"At the heart of these challenges is a systematic failure to listen to women," the authors wrote.

"If our approach to health and care does not work for all women - 51% of the population - then simply put: it does not work," they added.

The report sets out 117 action points and makes several pledges on how care will improve, including:

• Shorter waits for gynaecology care

• A pledge to "eliminate the diagnostic odyssey facing women" with conditions such as endometriosis and fibroids

• Fewer painful procedures without informed consent or a choice of pain relief

• Easier access to contraception and abortion care

• A promise to be "listened to and taken seriously at the first time of asking" and fewer cases of repeating the same story

• A new £1m menstrual education programme to ensure girls are better equipped to recognise the difference between healthy and unhealthy periods

• Redesigning clinical pathways for heavy periods, urogynaecology and menopause to speed up diagnosis and treatment

Ministers also pledged to improve healthy life expectancy in the poorest parts of the country to at least 61 years from 50.5 years.

The report also pledges that the government "will do more to prevent the health conditions that cause economic inactivity", amid rising levels of working-age women out of work due to long-term sickness.

Officials said that to help reduce variation in how GPs listen to and respond to women, patient survey data will be used to inform a quality improvement programme within two years.

Read more:
Endometriosis: my search for a cure
Birth stories: Women felt ignored, neglected and dismissed

Dr Alison Wright, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, welcomed plans for "tackling the gynaecology waiting list crisis, raising menstrual health awareness and supporting sustainable abortion services".

"With over 565,000 women still waiting for gynaecological care, there is a clear opportunity to embed Women's Health Hubs within the neighbourhood health model," she added.

Emma Cox, the chief executive of Endometriosis UK, said: "Diagnosis times for endometriosis are going up, not down and it's now taking an average of nine years, four months - rising to 11 years for diverse ethnic communities - which is totally unacceptable.

"Leadership and decisive actions will be vital to drive these times down."

(c) Sky News 2026: NHS 'failing women and girls' and has 'appalling culture of medical misogyny', health secretar