The new report by the NHS Confederation, Create Health Foundation and London Economics reveals the high costs to the economy of women being unable to work due to a range of conditions not being treated.

Dr Layla McCay, director of policy at the NHS Confederation, said: ‘By addressing women's health more effectively, we can alleviate substantial economic burdens, such as absenteeism and lost productivity in the workplace, ultimately benefiting businesses and the economy as a whole.'

The report says abstenteeism from work due to heavy and painful periods, endometriosis, fibroids and ovarian cysts, costs the UK economy nearly £11bn every year. In addition, around 60,000 women in the UK are unable to work because of the impact of menopause symptoms on their overall physical and mental health.

The report estimates returning these women to work could add £1.5bn each year to the economy.

Local authorities with more ethnically diverse populations were found to experience poorer access to women's health services, while areas with higher levels of deprivation reported worse overall health outcomes for women.

The report makes a number of recommendations, including:

• allocating ringfenced funding to ICSs to support the remaining eight years of the Women's Health Strategy for England
• distributing additional funding based on regional variations in need
• committing to annual increases in public research funding for conditions affecting women differently and disproportionately, as well as those that only affect women
• collecting disaggregated data to capture the intersecting inequalities in women's lives, such as race, socioeconomic status, and ability, making this information publicly available
• improving education and training for medical professionals to better address conditions that specifically affect women as well as those that affect men and women differently.

Dr Sue Mann, NHS national clinical director for women's health, said: ‘All too often in the NHS we have heard from women whose health concerns have been dismissed, which is why we are taking action to improve services for women. This includes expanding neighbourhood women's health hubs across the country – giving thousands more women access to specialist women's health teams in the community – and developing a network of women's health champions made up of senior leaders in every local care system.

 

‘We know many women feel their only option is to turn their back on their career if they are struggling with health issues such as menopause symptoms, and we are committed to helping ensure that does not happen.'