Jersey’s first women’s health strategy is due to be published by the end of the year – but a campaigner has warned the government has yet to show how it will pay for improvements to care.
Trudi Roscouet, founder of Eve Studios and Vitality40plus, wants a costed action plan showing what will change in 2027, who will deliver it and how improvements will be measured.
Her submission to Scrutiny’s review of the proposed government Budget follows confirmation in September that no specific funding had been allocated and no business case had yet been put forward for the strategy.
Assistant Health Minister Andy Howell, who holds political responsibility for women’s health, told the States that improvements would be “funded via existing budgets” and might “require changes to the way we deliver existing services”.
The strategy is expected before the end of the year, with December identified as the intended publication month.
But Ms Roscouet warned: “The hearing provided a clear publication commitment but not a funded delivery settlement.”
Without details of resources, staffing and measurable improvements, she said, “there is a material risk that publication of the strategy will be treated as delivery in itself”.
Whilst the strategy did not have a dedicated budget, ministers had suggested that some of the £4 million annual Prevention First programme could be used. But Ms Roscouet said no women’s health allocation had been identified.
She wants the cost and funding source of each action planned for 2027 published, alongside details of any existing work that would be reduced or reorganised.
Extending free contraception beyond the age of 21 is the only detailed service proposal raised so far, but its scope, cost and timetable remain undecided.
She also highlighted unanswered questions about menopause care, endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, bleeding after menopause and pelvic health, including staffing, referrals and waiting times.
Plans for a stand-alone women’s health strategy in Jersey were scrapped due to a lack of funding and staff resources – despite strong public engagement with a consultation process.
Instead, ministers said they would focus on specific areas already under way, including IVF funding, contraception services and abortion law reform.
The decision prompted criticism from politicians and campaigners, who argued that wider issues affecting women risked being overlooked.
The Health and Social Security Scrutiny Panel later lodged a successful amendment to the Budget calling for a dedicated women’s health strategy to be reinstated and delivered by the end of 2026.
Ms Roscouet now wants ministers to publish a costed plan alongside the strategy, setting out what will go ahead in 2027, what will be deferred and which existing services might have to be reorganised to free up resources.
She is also calling for current waiting times and clinic capacity to be made public so Islanders can see whether access to care improves.
