Landmark first-year progress in women's health across Wales

The ambition to close the gender health gap in Wales is celebrated this International Women’s Day, as NHS Wales Performance and Improvement publishes the first annual report of the NHS Wales Women’s Health Plan.

The ambitious 10-year NHS Wales Women’s Health Plan sets the vision for how women’s healthcare services in Wales will be improved. Created by the National Strategic Clinical Network for Women’s Health, the plan outlines 64 actions across eight areas. Since the plan launched in 2025, more than 80% of its short, medium and long-term actions are already in progress.

Sam Perera, Network Manager for the National Strategic Clinical Network for Women’s Health, said, “Through the discovery report in 2022, we listened to the experiences of women and girls on what matters most to them, the challenges they face and how they want healthcare to improve. After hearing from almost 4,000 women across Wales, the report set out the underlying themes and used these to inform the eight priority areas that the NHS Wales Women’s Health Plan now addresses.”

The eight priority areas are: menstrual health; endometriosis and adenomyosis; contraception, post-natal contraception and abortion care; preconception health, pelvic health and incontinence, menopause; violence against women and girls and ageing well and long-term conditions across the life course.

“In addition to the eight areas, our annual report also documents the progress made against our priorities set by Welsh Government, which is where we’ve made the most progress in the past 12 months”, added Sam.

Establishing a Women’s Health Hub in every health board across Wales has been a ministerial priority, with each hub expected to open by March 2026. Hubs are being developed locally to deliver personalised care for women living in that area. Some hubs will be based in a physical building; others will be virtual with options for mobile hubs also explored.

Sarah Murphy, Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing, said: “I am very proud we have invested £3m to set up women’s health hubs in every health board area, bringing vital services and care closer to home. All hubs are now open, offering women access to contraception, menopause care, pelvic health and menstrual care.

“We’ll continue to listen to what women are telling us and look to adapt services with these hubs, ensuring they offer the right care, in the right place, for women now and in the future.”

Another key achievement has been the creation of learning materials for young people. These educational resources are aimed at young people aged 11-16, and focus on topics such as periods, endometriosis and pelvic health. They were co-produced with school children and young people so that they can access information discreetly in ways that suit them, as well as in school settings.  

Sam continued, “A major strand of the plan is ensuring that women can access reliable health information quickly and easily, so we’ve taken steps to improve digital access. As well as making learning materials digitally available, we’ve also updated our Bloody Brilliant website, which concentrates on menstrual health and have been busy co-designing a new website dedicated to all aspects of women’s health. Over the past few months, we’ve worked closely with stakeholders such as Women’s Health Research Wales, Digital Health and Care Wales and women directly to shape its content, and the website is due to go live later this month.”

These digital developments are being supported by national work to raise standards across Wales, including benchmarking services against National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance, creating a new women’s health data dashboard to monitor key trends, and rolling out menopause training for staff in every health board.

Dr Helen Munro, Clinical Lead for the National Strategic Clinical Network for Women’s Health, said: “This year’s International Women’s Day theme, ‘Give to Gain’, reflects the spirit that has driven progress over the past 12 months. Across Wales, women, clinicians and communities have given their time, their experiences and their commitment to shaping better healthcare. Because of that collective effort, we are already seeing real progress towards improving women’s healthcare so that women of all ages, today and for generations to come, can gain.

“The momentum of this first year shows what is possible when we listen to women, prioritise their needs and work together with purpose. It is an investment not just in services, but in the health, dignity and futures of women across Wales.”

To read the first annual report, and for more information on the NHS Wales Women’s Health Plan, visit the NHS Wales Performance and Improvement website.