The government has been accused of “deprioritising women’s health” as analysis shows that almost 600,000 women in England are waiting for gynaecological treatment, an increase of a third over two years.
There are 33,000 women waiting more than a year for such treatment, an increase of 43%, according to Labour analysis of data from the House of Commons library.
It found that there is no region in England that meets the government’s target for cervical cancer screening of 80% coverage, with just over two-thirds of women (68.7%) having been screened in the past five and a half years.
Also, one in four women (26%) with suspected breast cancer waited more than a fortnight to see a specialist in the year to September 2023.
Under two-thirds (66.4%) of eligible women have been screened for breast cancer in the last three years, with just two English regions meeting the 70% coverage target.
The NHS target in England is that 92% of patients have a referral-to-treatment time of less than 18 weeks.
The figures come after the government pledged to end decades of gender-based health inequalities through a new women’s health strategy for England.
Source: The Guardian, 22 April 2024
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