The Menstrual Health Coalition is pleased to publish the following statement in response to the publication of the political party manifestos.
The Menstrual Health Coalition is encouraged that both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party have set out policies for tackling women’s health challenges in their manifestos. While there were no great surprises in their manifestos, we welcome the parties’ pledges to prioritise women’s health in the next Government.
Despite the focus placed by the Liberal Democrats on health and social care in their manifesto, we were disappointed to see no mention of women's health as part of their policy offering to the country.
We welcome the Labour Party’s commitment to prioritising women’s health as the NHS is reformed, and we will look forward to engaging with the Party to ensure menstrual health is a fundamental component of this. We also welcome the Conservative Party’s ambition to improve women’s health and their recommitment to expanding women’s health hub’s across all Integrated Care Systems.
However, details remain lacking as to how the parties will place women’s health at the centre of improving health outcomes in the UK, notably on menstrual health and whether the Labour Party will continue to implement the Conservative Government’s Women’s Health Strategy.
Whoever wins the election must at the outset set out a clear, detailed plan for how the Government plans to tackle the increasing gynaecological waiting lists, menstrual health diagnosis times, and inequities in menstrual health across the country The Menstrual Health Coalition looks forward to working with the next Government and Parliament to achieve this goal.
“The need to improve women’s health has been clearly identified across all the devolved nations. It is vital that any progress that has been made must not be lost as the funding pressures for NHS and public health services continue to rise.” – Anne Connolly, Co-Chair of the MHC
