An abandoned Women’s Health Strategy could be brought back next year, if an amendment lodged by health scrutineers is backed by politicians.
Plans to scrap the stand-alone Women’s Health Strategy were revealed last year due to funding concerns and “limited staff resources”.
Now, the Health and Social Security Scrutiny Panel has lodged an amendment to the proposed Government Budget which, if approved, would mean that the Health Minister would have to publish a Women’s Health Strategy by the end of 2026.
The proposed strategy – which would be informed by the Women’s Health and Wellbeing Joint Strategic Needs Assessment – is described by the panel as being essential for three reasons: providing clear direction and reassurance that women’s health is a priority; enabling future administrations to build on existing work rather than starting anew; and enabling effective monitoring of progress and prioritisation of funding for critical services.
The panel acknowledged that completing the full strategy within this government’s term “may be challenging”, but “strongly recommends” that initial implementation phases begin “without delay”.
The panel added: “Significant public support for prioritising women’s health – evidenced through extensive consultation, surveys, and reports – combined with the insights and findings from the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment, provides a robust foundation for this work.
“These resources should be leveraged immediately to ensure that women’s health receives the structured, transparent, and accountable approach it deserves.”
Whilst the amendment does not propose any specific funding for the strategy, the panel acknowledges that it would require the Health Minister to make decisions about the allocation of funds for its delivery.