Labour's Women's Health Strategy: Progress or Just Another Waiting Room?
So Labour dropped their renewed Women's Health Strategy last week (15 April 2026), and I have thoughts. A lot of them. Because this isn't just politics for me. This is my actual life.
My gynaecology appointment at my local NHS hospital has been cancelled and rescheduled three times. I recently received a letter saying that apparently I cancelled it. I did no such thing. It was due next month. So I called them, only to be told “ The letter had an error when it said that I cancelled it. Wait to hear from us”. When I got my endometriosis diagnosis last year, trying to figure out what to do with it, because nobody in my circle had it, and the most comforting thing anyone said to me at the time was "at least it's not cancer." Right. Thanks for that.
I went from struggling to do normal everyday things, to feeling completely lost in a system that handed me a diagnosis and then essentially wished me luck. And then there's my birth experience. I won't go into all of it, but I was not listened to. There was no compassion. That trauma doesn't just disappear. Even now, going near that hospital gives me anxiety. That's what being dismissed does to a person. It stays.
So yes. I read this strategy with very specific feelings based on my experience.
So what's actually in it?
The renewed strategy puts women's experiences at the centre of care, and crucially, it's exploring ways to link women's feedback directly to provider funding. In other words: if a hospital keeps dismissing women, it hits them in the budget. The Health Secretary literally said "We need to hit medical misogyny where it hurts, the wallet." And honestly? Good.
There will be a single referral point so women are directed to the right professional first time, rather than being bounced around for years. For anyone who's ever felt like a hot potato being passed between departments, this is a big deal.
Endometriosis diagnosis times are still going up, not down, currently averaging nine years and four months, rising to eleven years for women from diverse ethnic communities. Eleven years. Let that sink in.
There's also a £1 million menstrual education programme to help girls recognise when periods are unhealthy, and a £1.5 million Femtech challenge fund to fast-track innovation in women's healthcare. Small numbers in NHS terms, but the right direction.
There will be a new standard for pain relief during invasive procedures like coil fittings. Only took forever, but here we are.
The "but" part (because there's always a but.)
Over 565,000 women are still waiting for gynaecological care. The strategy sets an ambition to cut waits to 18 weeks by the end of this Parliament. Ambition is great. Delivery is what matters.
The RCOG is the body representing obstetricians and gynaecologists. Its a welcomed the strategy but was clear: for it to achieve its full potential, it needs sustained investment, clear delivery plans, and transparent progress reporting. RCOG Translation: warm words aren't enough. We've been here before.
The bottom line.
This is the most substantive commitment to women's health we've seen in years. The language has shifted. The accountability mechanisms are new. The focus on endometriosis, pain management, and actually listening to women, that matters.
But I am still waiting for my appointment. And so are 565,000 others.
A strategy without delivery is just a document. And women have been handed documents before.
What we need, what I needed after my diagnosis, what I needed in that delivery room is to actually be heard. Not promised. Heard.
That's what Healthify Reset is built on. Because while we wait for the system to catch up, you deserve support right now. Not in five years. Now.
