A FTWW Blog

As the UK General Election fast approaches, many of FTWW’s followers might be thinking that, as the NHS is devolved in Wales, there’s little that any new government in Westminster can do to address health inequities experienced by those we support. Partly, of course, they’d be right – the Senedd elections are incredibly important to us as an organisation focused on female health equality in Wales. But that’s not to say that the UK Government hasn’t got a huge amount of influence over our health-related experiences more generally.

The Office for National Statistics reports that women may live longer than men but they spend fewer years in good health[1]. Women wait longer for diagnoses and are more likely to be misdiagnosed or dismissed when reporting symptoms[2]. In no small part, this is because, historically, we have been under-represented in clinical trials and the health issues which affect us are therefore poorly understood. Much of the research that informs treatments, interventions, and health services across Wales’s NHS is informed by research funded by the UK Government, so we urgently need it to make ‘women’s health’ a priority for investment, not least so that the economic burden incurred by late-diagnosed and poorly managed health conditions which disproportionately or differently impact female bodies is reduced.

There is a growing body of evidence to demonstrate the harsh reality of intersectional disadvantage experienced by women across the UK, with Wales no exception. Black women are almost four times more likely to die in childbirth than white women, with significant disparities for women from Asian or mixed ethnic backgrounds[3]. At the height of the pandemic, disabled women were between twice and 3.5 times more likely than non-disabled women to die from a Covid-related cause[4]. And the majority of those now struggling with Long Covid will be female[5]. As a disabled people’s organisation, we are all too aware that Covid is just one example of where poor or delayed treatment can lead to increasing risk of long-lasting impairment, with all the personal and societal costs that this incurs.

ALL governments talk of ‘prevention’ and ‘early intervention’ as vital to improving people’s health and lives, yet, when it comes to the health of women and people registered female at birth, trans, non-binary, and intersex people, lack of awareness, lack of information or guidance, biases, and stereotypes can all play a significant role in delaying access to optimum healthcare, making it far more difficult to achieve good patient outcomes. Improved training for healthcare professionals is often cited as a key way to address some of these barriers – and this is where the UK Government has as much of a role to play as its Welsh equivalent: a significant number of healthcare professionals who work in Wales are trained in England, whilst patients on the Wales-England border, or who require specialist treatment, may well need to leave Wales to access services.

We also know that many of the most insidious health inequities are driven by socio-economic disadvantage[6], which is especially pronounced in Wales whose population has a higher proportion of elderly people[7] and disabled people (17.7% vs 21.1%)[8]. However, many of the levers to address socio-economic disadvantage sit with the UK Government, including the welfare system, which should be re-evaluated through a gender lens. Indeed, women are particularly at risk when it comes to poverty, not least because they are more likely to be living with chronic physical and mental ill health which makes it harder, if not impossible, for them to secure employment.

We would therefore urge the new UK Government to be forward-thinking when it comes to ‘women’s health’, not least because it makes economic sense: investment in relevant clinical research; investment in training programmes which focus on equality, diversity, and inclusion; investment in improved service delivery…All would enable the UK to adopt the ‘preventative’ approach so often exhorted of the population, ultimately improving the UK’s financial wellbeing, and the health and prosperity of its citizens.

As members of the Women’s Equality Network (WEN) Wales, we have supported its Manifesto calls on health inequality, including:

• The need to prioritise equitable and timely access to health services for women
• Investment in high quality research into women’s health and treatment, including equitable disaggregation of clinical trials
• All patient-facing healthcare practitioners to receive mandatory training related to the health needs of women and groups with protected characteristics
• The introduction of a legal obligation for employers to offer support and reasonable adjustments for those affected by symptoms of menstrual health conditions or menopause, and for those going through fertility treatment
• The introduction of paid leave for those who experience miscarriage in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy
• A commitment to addressing socio-economic disadvantage as a key driver of health inequalities in Wales.

We would go further and add to this list the need to prioritise the wellbeing and rights of disabled people, many of whom will be women and people registered female at birth.

Lack of education about disability has enabled prejudices and misconceptions to thrive across society, with many of our community unaware that, as people living with enduring and life-impacting symptoms (even if not yet formally diagnosed), they are ‘allowed’ to call themselves disabled. Too often, those affected have no idea that the Equality Act 2010 gives them the right to ask for reasonable adjustments at work, or simply to be treated with dignity and respect, without discrimination, harassment and victimisation. As our own Engagement Officer, Dee, puts it, ‘those who do identify as disabled may not have had an easy time in accepting this, not least because of the shame, stigma, taboo, and ableism (from others or internalised) so many of us experience’.

Above all, one of FTWW’s fundamental aims is to give its members the confidence to have their voices heard when it comes to their health and wellbeing. The UK Election is a vital opportunity to do just that. We urge everyone reading to please exercise your hard fought right to vote on Thursday 4th July, and, like us, continue to engage with your Members of Parliament once they have been elected to ensure that they make good on all the above calls – please remember, they work for you, for us.

Visit the Electoral Commission website if you are unsure about anything and contact your local authority if you have questions about accessibility in your polling station. You will need photo ID to vote – find out what’s accepted, here.

 

[1] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthandlifeexpectancies/bulletins/healthstatelifeexpectanciesuk/between2011to2013and2020to2022

[2] https://research.senedd.wales/research-articles/hormonal-emotional-and-irrational-is-it-really-the-case-that-women-s-health-is-taken-less-seriously-than-men-s/

[3] https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmwomeq/94/report.html

[4] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/articles/coronaviruscovid19relateddeathsbydisabilitystatusenglandandwales/24januaryto20november2020

[5] https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(21)00228-3/fulltext

[6] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/disability/articles/disabilitybyagesexanddeprivationenglandandwales/census2021#disability-and-deprivation-england-2021

[7] https://www.gov.wales/population-and-household-estimates-wales-census-2021-html

[8] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthandwellbeing/bulletins/disabilityenglandandwales/census2021