Women’s health in the June news cycle

From maternity safety to cervical screening, the past weeks have seen a flurry of announcements that could reshape the future of women’s health in the UK. 

In this blog, we unpack what’s been promised – and what still needs to be delivered.

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologist World Congress

Wes Streeting, Health and Social Care Secretary, unveiled a national investigation into maternity and neonatal services, reporting by December.  

Dame Lesley Regan reflected on the good progress achieved since the Women’s Health Strategy’s introduction in 2022, but recognised too many women still face major barriers to good care across their lives. In her remarks, Dame Regan advocated for a ‘left-shift - building joined- up community solutions for women - with the potential to boost UK productivity by £36bn if we can close the women’s health gap’. 

Professor Ranee Thakar shared the College’s work on the gynaecology care crisis, with over 580,000 women in England still waiting too long for hospital care. Professor Thakar reiterated the need for ‘Government focus on immediate and long-term solutions and urged clinicians to be proactive in understanding their own list data and creating connections between primary and secondary care’. 

Baroness Gillian Merron, Minister for Women’s Health said that the NHS 10-Year Plan will see healthcare shifting to a neighbourhood health service model with Women’s Health Hubs a part of this – Integrated Care Boards take note! 

Women’s health rights and autonomy 

The landmark amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, laid by Tonia Antoniazzi MP is a momentous day for women’s health rights in the UK. The RCOG, medical professionals, legal and public health organisations have campaigned for many years to see women removed from the criminal law for ending their own pregnancy. 

The College also welcomed the MPs decision not to support an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill which attempted to restrict access to telemedicine for early medical abortion. This is the second time MPs have voted in support of telemedicine abortion.

Cervical screening policy shift

NHS England announced three major shifts in cervical screening policy, as a part of the Government’s prevention agenda:

• Offering home-sampling kits across England: Helping to increase screening uptake.
• Moving to risk-based follow-up intervals: From July 2025, women aged 25–49 who test negative for HPV via clinician-taken samples will move from three-year to five-year screening intervals, in line with clinical evidence and the UK National Screening Committee recommendation. Those testing positive for HPV will continue with more frequent follow-ups, ensuring a personalised and evidence-based approach to screening.
• Providing digital screening invites via NHS App: June saw the roll-out of this service as part of a new ‘ping and book’ service to boost uptake and help save lives.

Yet these announcements arrive against a sobering backdrop – the UK has dropped down international rankings for women’s healthcare for the fourth-year consecutive year. The UK sits 41st out of 142 countries in the Hologic Global Women’s Health Index 2025, an annual league table based on a survey of 78,000 women and girls worldwide. The UK is below countries like Saudi Arabia, Lithuania and Kazakhstan, including the United States despites its abortion controversies. 

There is still much work to be done in closing the women’s health gap but we remain hopeful as plenary sessions at the recent HLTH Europe 2025 revealed a strong focus on the health of women and digital equity. 

We’re excited for the 10-Year Plan and this year’s summer of women’s sport !

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