What do women want from health services?
Women make up just over half of the population, and across their lives most will need support for female-related conditions, such as heavy bleeding, pelvic pain, or peri- and menopausal symptoms. They will also be regularly invited over four decades for cervical screening and, in later life, for breast screening. Yet too many tell us that accessing the right support is harder than it should be.
Context
Women's health has been a growing national priority. In 2022, the previous government published the first Women's Health Strategy for England, setting out a 10-year ambition to transform how the health and care system listens to and supports women throughout their lives. The strategy emphasises a life-course approach, tackling disparities and improving access, information and outcomes across areas from menstrual health and contraception to gynaecological conditions, menopause and maternal care.
The strategy was followed by £25 million of funding for the NHS to establish at least one women’s health hub in each of the 42 NHS regional areas from 2023-25. These hubs could be specific one-stop centres women could attend for co-located services such as menstrual, contraceptive or menopause advice and care, or as an approach by various women’s health providers to offer better joined up care for women as they used different services.
And last year the government’s new 10 Year Plan said women’s health hubs could act as a blueprint for its new ambitions to shift more care from hospitals into communities, through new neighbourhood health centres.
The Women's Health Strategy is now being refreshed, with an updated version expected in the coming months. This next phase will reflect what has been learnt so far and continue efforts to tackle longstanding barriers in women's healthcare, reduce inequalities in access and outcomes, and embed a more consistent standard of person-centred care across England. , reflecting what has been learnt so far and continuing efforts to tackle longstanding barriers in women's healthcare and to reduce inequalities in access and outcomes across England.
Healthwatch England's research
To understand what women want from health services, we commissioned YouGov to gather insights into people’s experiences of seeking healthcare over the past two years. We also reviewed 32 local Healthwatch reports on women’s health published in 2025, giving us a detailed picture of what women encounter across different parts of England.
To allow meaningful comparison, both men and women were asked whether they felt listened to by healthcare professionals. All polling figures, unless otherwise stated, come from YouGov. The total sample included 6,018 adults, of whom 3,069 were women. Fieldwork took place between 22 December 2025 and 5 January 2026, using an online survey. The results have been weighted to be representative of all adults in England aged 18 and over.
Key findings
- Fifteen percent of women say they never feel listened to, or feel listened to less than half the time, during healthcare appointments.
- Women who did not feel listened to were significantly more likely to report dissatisfaction with their most recent appointment.
- The single most important priority women identify for future women’s health services is having health professionals who listen.
What women told us
Being listened to and taken seriously
The Women’s Health Strategy for England sets out an ambition to radically improve how the health and care system listens to women. Strong communication and attentive listening are known to support greater patient satisfaction, better understanding of health conditions, and higher‑quality care. To understand whether this ambition is being realised, we asked people about their recent experiences of care, focusing on whether they felt listened to and whether their concerns were taken seriously.
Our findings show a clear gap between men’s and women’s experiences.
Overall, 15% of women who have had a medical appointment in the last two years say they never feel listened to, or feel listened to less than half the time, compared with 12% of men.
Nearly three quarters of men (72%) report feeling listened to and taken seriously “always” or “most of the time.” For women, this falls to 63%, highlighting a persistent disparity in how patients experience communication and respect within healthcare settings.
Social disparities
The gap widens further when comparing different ethnic groups. More than six in ten, 64%, of white women who have had a medical appointment in the last two years said they felt listened to and taken seriously, compared to 52% of Asian women.
Younger women are also less likely to say they are always listened to. Among those aged 18 to 29, only 12% said they are always listened to and taken seriously. This rises to 30% among women aged 70 and over.
These findings reflect what local Healthwatch has heard over the past year.
Many women described feeling infantilised or misunderstood, especially those with learning disabilities or autism.
As one woman told Healthwatch Oxfordshire:
"Just because I am young and a woman doesn't mean I don't know what I am talking about. I know my cycle, I know my pain, just listen to me."
Women describe having to push repeatedly for help, having their symptoms dismissed or getting misdiagnosed.
"I was always told my new or worsening symptoms were just IBS and that I needed to live with it. Painful periods were dismissed as a normal part of growing up and linked to IBS, with advice to take paracetamol." – Healthwatch Barnsley
When women do feel heard, it makes a clear difference. People told Healthwatch Oxfordshire about positive experiences where they were listened to, given clear and accessible information, and supported to make decisions about their treatment.
Women's experience of female health services
In our polling, 60% of women said they had accessed at least one women's health service in the last two years.
The most commonly accessed services were:
- Cervical screening
- Breast screening
- Advice on contraception and access to contraceptive methods
- Menopause or perimenopause support
- Menstrual problems assessment and treatment
White women, 61%, and Black women, 66%, were more likely to report accessing a service than Mixed, 54%, or Asian women 51%.
Overall, 80% of women who had a women's health-related appointment in the past two years said they were satisfied with the care they received.
However, satisfaction is strongly linked to whether women feel they are being listened to. Of the women who were satisfied with their last women’s health related appointment, 74% felt listened to most of or all of the time. Just over half, 52%, of those who felt dissatisfied with their last women’s health related appointment feel listened to less than half the time or never.
Satisfaction increases with age: only 74% of women aged 18 to 29 reported being satisfied with their last women’s health related appointment, compared with 94% of those aged 60 to 69 and 91% of those aged 70 and over.
Satisfaction was lowest among Asian women (70%), who also reported the highest dissatisfaction (21%). Satisfaction was highest among Black women with 86% and White women with 81%.
Our insight shows that the experiences of women seeking care from women's health services can be very mixed, explaining differences in satisfaction levels.
For example, Healthwatch East Riding of Yorkshire heard from a woman seeking gynaecological care for endometriosis. "You need to get pregnant," was the advice she was given to ease her symptoms. Hearing this was emotionally damaging for her as she had just experienced four failed rounds of IVF treatment and showed a lack of sensitivity and person-centred care.
We also heard that some groups face additional barriers when it comes to cancer screening. Healthwatch Redbridge found that wheelchair users and Black British Caribbean women described breast screening as uncomfortable or painful. Learning-disabled participants said screening felt stressful or nerve-racking.
For women seeking help for menopause and perimenopause symptoms, getting treatment can be a bit of a lottery, with women needing to seek help several times before they find someone knowledgeable and who takes them seriously:
“Getting an appointment generally is challenging. Getting one with a GP who has an interest in menopause seems impossible.” – Healthwatch Solihull
Healthwatch Enfield found that women who had a positive experience during cervical screening often praised the nurse's expertise, suggesting that staff competence is key to ensuring that women's health services provide good care. You can read more about what women have told us about cervical screening in our earlier report on solutions to improve uptake.
What services women want in neighbourhood settings
The government has dropped requirements on NHS areas to expand the number of women's health hubs, but may seek to use the new neighbourhood care model as a way to bring different services together in community settings so women can access a range of support in one place.
Through our local network, we have heard that many women would welcome the ability to access a range of women's health services in one place, rather than having to coordinate multiple appointments and providers.
Healthwatch Herefordshire, for example, heard that many women would prefer dedicated women's clinics where they can access expertise directly, rather than navigating fragmented services. Women with multiple conditions, early menopause or medical menopause in particular reported difficulty finding tailored care.
Healthwatch York heard from a woman with PCOS whose experience highlights the need for ongoing, holistic support:
"I went to the GP earlier this year with symptoms of PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome). I was referred quite quickly to York Hospital for scans and tests. The GP confirmed with me that I do have PCOS, but wasn't willing to help with symptoms unless I was actively trying for a baby, and told me to come back then."
To understand how future services could best serve the women they are designed for, we asked women which services they would most like to see available at a health centre in their local area. The following services were the most commonly selected:
- Cervical screening
- Menopause assessment and treatment
- Menstrual problems assessment and treatment
- Mental health support
- Breast pain assessment and care
The range of services available is only one part of what matters. Women also told us that how care is delivered will determine whether these hubs will meet women's needs.
What women need to make services work for them
When we asked women what matters most in women's health services, two priorities stood out:
- Nearly two thirds (64%) said having health professionals who listen to them and take their concerns seriously was essential;
- 62% said they wanted health professionals trained in women's health.
These two factors are the top priorities across all age groups. The message is consistent with what we hear from local Healthwatch: women want expertise and healthcare staff who listen.
For women aged 70 and over, having multiple services in one place and being able to travel easily to the centre becomes more significant. For women under 60, flexible appointment times in the evenings and at weekends are crucial.
"There was not a lot of choice in times, no Saturday or evening appointments, so it does make it difficult for people who work." – Healthwatch Bracknell Forest, Slough, and Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead
Trauma-informed care is especially important for Mixed and Black women, with 41% of Black women and 44% of Mixed ethnicity women selecting this, compared to 35% of White women. Among women who were dissatisfied with their women’s health related appointment care, trauma-informed care was the third most selected factor.
Healthwatch Islington also found that cultural awareness and reassurance matter:
"We need to raise the awareness of the staff that do these tests. Consider the communities - consider the culture - in our culture you mustn't touch that area at all, not even yourself! It's important to explain the procedure to the women and make them relaxed, not stressed out."
What’s next?
We will share these findings with the government to help shape the refreshed Women’s Health Strategy.
Our message is clear: improving women’s healthcare is not only about where services are located or how many services can be offered in one place. It is equally about the culture of care ie. how women are treated, how their concerns are heard, and how confidently they can trust the professionals they see.
Women consistently tell us they do not want their pain dismissed or their instincts questioned. They do not want to navigate multiple appointments before being taken seriously or referred for tests or specialist support. They want to be listened to the first time, and they want to know that the professional they see has a strong understanding of female health conditions.
Women also need care that is trauma‑informed and empathetic, particularly for those who have experienced violence, abuse, or who feel anxious about intimate examinations. Ensuring that services recognise and respond to these needs is essential to building a system that is safe, respectful, and genuinely centred on women’s experiences.
Read the full article on Healthwatch England's website HERE
Elena’s story shows what happens when a woman’s voice is repeatedly dismissed by the systems meant to help her.
Elena initially experienced compassionate, patient-centred healthcare. But following a move, that care disappeared. For four years, she lived with recurring infections and severe pain, repeatedly asking for help, investigations, and answers. Instead of being listened to, she was redirected, minimised, and made to feel like a problem rather than a patient.
Elena describes having to change the way she speaks, carefully choosing her words in the hope of being taken seriously. She felt judged, ignored, and treated differently, noticing that others were listened to more readily than she was. Her pain was repeatedly managed with short-term fixes rather than properly investigated, leaving her physically exhausted, mentally distressed, and eventually unable to continue working.
Her experience highlights a reality many women recognise: having symptoms downplayed, concerns dismissed, and persistence misread as rudeness. Elena didn’t want special treatment—she wanted time, understanding, and action. As she says, she shouldn’t have to beg to be helped.
This story is not just about one woman. It reflects a wider pattern of women, particularly those from marginalised backgrounds, struggling to be heard, believed, and cared for.
