We welcome the Scottish Government’s Women’s Health Plan

We welcome the Scottish Government’s publication of ‘Women’s Health Plan: a plan for 2021-2024’ today, setting out actions to improve women’s health inequalities by raising awareness around women’s health, improving access to healthcare and reducing inequalities in health outcomes.

We strongly welcome the Plan’s commitment to meeting SRH needs across the life course.

FSRH has for some time, alongside others in the SRH community, called for sexual and reproductive healthcare services in Scotland to receive the investment and attention required to ensure girls and women have control over their reproductive and post-reproductive choices.

We are supportive of the Plan’s goals for women and girls to be able to access the full range of contraception easily, quickly and confidentially and to improve access to information on menstrual health and management options. In particular, we are pleased to see proposed actions to increase availability of Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) and to ensure provision of a specialist menopause service in every NHS Board.

It is vital that women and girls in Scotland can easily access high quality SRH whenever and wherever they need it.

In relation to abortion care, we are pleased to see the Plan committing to making telephone or video consultation universally available as an option. However we call on the Scottish Government to make permanent the measure introduced during COVID-19 allowing for telemedical abortion care – given the strong evidence showing this to be a safe, effective and more accessible service.

Moving forwards, we call on the Scottish Government to work with FSRH and other medical bodies in the SRH space to fully implement the plan.

It is vital that women and girls in Scotland can easily access high quality SRH whenever and wherever they need it. This rests on the successful implementation of this Plan, accompanied by political support and appropriately resourced and staffed services.

ENDS
For further information please contact Camila Azevedo, FSRH External Affairs Manager, at cazevedo@fsrh.org or 02037945309.

Notes

• The Women’s Health Plan can be accessed here.

About FSRH
The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH) is the largest UK multi-disciplinary professional membership organisation working at the heart of sexual and reproductive health (SRH), supporting healthcare professionals to deliver high quality care. It works with its 15,000 members, to shape sexual reproductive health for all. It produces evidence-based clinical guidance, standards, training, qualifications and research into SRH. It also delivers conferences and publishes the journal BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health in partnership with the BMJ. For more information please visit: www.fsrh.org