England's Women's Health Strategy Relaunched with Patient Power Payments Proposal
England's Women's Health Strategy has been relaunched with an enhanced focus on patient experience and outcomes, including a potentially controversial proposal to introduce financial incentives — dubbed patient power payments — that could see NHS providers lose funding if they receive poor feedback from women about their care.
The updated strategy, announced this week, includes commitments to deliver faster diagnoses for conditions such as endometriosis, improve pain management, and ensure better overall access to care for women across England.
Background
The original Women's Health Strategy for England was launched in 2022, following a landmark call for evidence that revealed widespread dissatisfaction among women with the healthcare they received. The strategy aimed to address long-standing inequalities in healthcare provision, including lengthy waits for diagnoses of conditions such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome.
Key Developments
The relaunched strategy introduces a new standard for pain relief during invasive procedures and empowers women to report negative experiences more easily. The most significant and potentially controversial element is the proposal for patient power payments — a model under which funding could be withheld from providers who receive poor feedback on care experiences through patient-reported experience measures.
While the goal is to empower patients and drive improvements, concerns have been raised by experts about the potential for providers to game targets when funding is directly tied to them. The strategy also aims to address the issue of medical misogyny — the dismissal of women's symptoms and pain by healthcare professionals.
Why It Matters
Women's health has historically been under-researched and under-resourced within the NHS. The relaunched strategy represents a significant commitment to addressing these inequalities, though the effectiveness of the patient power payments mechanism will depend heavily on its implementation.
What's Next
The government is expected to consult further on the patient power payments proposal before implementation. Full details of the relaunched strategy are available at FemTech World.
