ENGLAND — The Labour government updated England's women's health strategy in 2026, introducing a patient power payment scheme, streamlined referral processes, and mandatory pain relief standards for invasive gynaecological procedures. The previous version of the strategy was published in 2022 by the Conservative government, promising to "radically improve" how the health and care system engaged with and listened to all women and girls and to boost health outcomes.

Under the patient power payment scheme, women will be able to give feedback and report their experiences of treatment. Money will be allocated to areas needing improvement, and providers receiving negative feedback could lose funding. Gynaecology has been selected for the first trial of the scheme, which the government said could be extended to other health conditions in the future.

The updated strategy also includes a streamlined referral process to ensure patients are seen by appropriate clinicians and to reduce waiting times. A new standard of care will require women to be offered appropriate pain relief for invasive gynaecological procedures.

The changes come as analysis of waiting list data shows the number of women waiting for gynaecological procedures in England doubled to 565,000 between February 2020 and January 2026. Over the same period, waiting lists for all planned treatment excluding mental health in England increased by 58%.

Zoe Trafford, who has had endometriosis since she was a teenager, had to give up her work as a hairdresser in Liverpool because standing caused her too much pain. She had her womb and part of her bowel removed during major surgery and now drains her own bladder using a small tube. "But it's not normal – I don't think being in pain is normal," Trafford said. "I'm not being listened to."

Endometriosis can cause severe pain and heavy menstrual bleeding. Emma Cox, chief executive of Endometriosis UK, said that diagnosis times of more than nine years for endometriosis were unacceptable.

Other parts of the United Kingdom have also developed women's health strategies. Scotland first launched its women's health plan in 2021 and has since published phase two, which includes transforming services to ensure timely access to gynaecological care. Wales launched a women's health plan in 2024 to close the gender health gap by providing better health services for women, and Northern Ireland authorities are developing a women's health action plan.