Comment on new Women’s Health Strategy for England

Jim McManus, President of the Association of Directors of Public Health, has welcomed the new women's health strategy, published by Government:  

“This new 10 year strategy, published yesterday, presents a much needed opportunity to integrate care around the needs of women and we very much welcome this commitment to addressing existing inequalities in women’s health.  

“The introduction of one-stop hubs is particularly welcome as a means to overcome the barriers women face when accessing services and treatment as it will enable greater pooling of expertise and resources.  

“However, funding for local authority commissioned services has fallen significantly in recent years – since 2015 for example, the public health grant has been cut by almost a quarter in real terms – and delivering these new services will require long term, sustainable funding for local government.   

“As well as a real terms increase in the public health grant, greater collaboration between local authorities, the NHS and community groups is needed.  

“Directors of Public Health are committed to making disparities in women’s experiences and outcomes a thing of the past and look forward to working with our partners to put this new, ambitious strategy, into practice.”