Women's Health in Wales - A Discovery Report

Although women and girls make up over half of the Welsh population, women’s health and wellbeing is often undervalued and under-resourced and there is a need to reduce health inequalities, improve equity of service and improve health outcomes for women in Wales.

Inequalities in health outcomes exist between both men and women and between different groups of women in Wales. We must work to reduce health inequalities that women experience when it comes to diagnosing and treating ischaemic heart disease, cardiovascular disease, screening for cancers, and other major health conditions. Health inequalities in different groups of women, in different parts of Wales are unjust and preventable.

We can reduce some health inequalities by identifying gaps in health service provision, considering areas of best practice and developing actions to address these gaps, tailored to meet the needs of all women.

It is important to note that health inequalities are socially determined by a set of factors and circumstances and these circumstances can disadvantage people and limit their chance to live longer, healthier lives. 

These factors cannot be solely addressed by the Women’s Health Plan, however improving access to health services has an important role to play in reducing health inequalities.

Recognising this inequality, the Health Minister tasked the Women’s Health Implementation Group to develop a Women’s Health Plan for Wales.

Developing such a plan is undertaken in three stages:

Discover (June – November 2022)

To understand the needs of women in Wales by asking what matters to them. Utilising surveys and focus groups to identify the inequalities and gaps in service provision as well as opportunities for improvements in women’s health.

Design (2023)

Partnership working via the proposed Women’s Health Network; utilise this discovery report, good practise already in place in Wales and review the evidence base to develop a 10-year Women’s Health Plan for Wales. This will set clear actions and identify partners to take them forward.

Deliver (2024-2034)

Implement and monitor the Plan via the Women’s Health Network across the NHS and partners. Ensuring improvements are sustainably delivered across the NHS system with continuous monitoring and outcomes measured to be reported to the NHS Executive.

This discovery report presents the state of the nation for women’s health in Wales, combining an evidence review of women’s health with the voices of women and girls in Wales.

Following the consultation of over 3,800 women, this report seeks to build the foundations for the development of a Women’s Health Plan for Wales.