Healthwatch Lancashire “Talk to Us” Women’s Health Phase One Report - Exploratory Survey
Download (PDF 4.89 MB)Summary of report content
This is a report by Healthwatch Lancashire. The report looks at women's health in the local area.
In August 2024, Healthwatch Lancashire launched Talk to Us – Women’s Health, the first phase of a two-part investigation into women’s health services in Lancashire. The project was initiated in response to an NHS England directive instructing Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) to establish a women’s health ‘hub’ in their area by the end of 2024. Our overarching aim has been to provide insights that would support the development of these hubs and other women’s health services in the region.
The ‘Talk to Us’ survey ran from August to October 2024 and received 305 responses. It asked five key questions relating to women’s health concerns, priorities, and experiences using healthcare services. Participants were asked about the adequacy of health services, their comfort discussing health matters with professionals, whether they felt heard and understood, and what their main health priorities were.
Key findings. Common concerns included:
(a) feeling ignored or not taken seriously by health professionals
(b) a lack of appropriate knowledge among some medical professionals regarding women-specific health issues
(c) insufficient information provided to make informed decisions about their
health. As a result of these issues, many women shared experiences of long delays in receiving diagnoses and instances of misdiagnosis.
Other key issues raised by survey respondents include:
- A strong preference among some women to see female healthcare professionals.
- Limited information about the range of women’s health services available locally.
- Long waiting times for treatment, and the need to travel significant distances for appointments.
There are no recommendations in this report. The above findings are intended to inform the possibility of women's hubs locally.
There are follow up actions in this report. These include further sharing of the work and development of a phase 2 for the project.