Women’s Health Plan: One Year of Progress

December 2025 marks one year since the launch of the Women’s Health Plan for Wales (2025–2035)—a ten-year plan to improve health outcomes for women and girls across Wales. Developed by the National Strategic Clinical Network for Women’s Health, the plan was shaped by the Discovery Report with feedback from around 4,000 women, and includes over 60 short-, medium- and long-term actions across eight priority areas. Since launching in December 2024, the Women’s Health Plan has marked a new chapter for women’s health in Wales. Over the past year, health boards have begun developing Women’s Health Hubs, supported by workforce reviews, stakeholder engagement, and two rounds of funding bids.

What’s Happened So Far

• Co-production at the heart: We’ve developed a national framework with the Women’s Health Research Centre and Fair Treatment for the Women of Wales to make sure women’s voices shape services.
• Better information for young people: New school resources and updates to the Bloody Brilliant campaign, including a free period product locator.
• Championing equality: Recruiting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Clinical Champions to ensure intersectionality within women’s health is prioritised.
• Trusted online resources: Interim NHS Wales Women’s Health pages are live, with a new co-produced website launching in Spring 2026.

• Bringing people together: Our first All-Wales Women’s Health Stakeholder Event focused on co-production, violence against women, and the Health Hub model.

By September 2025, over a third of the Plan’s 64 actions were underway, with several already complete.

What’s Next

• Women’s Health Hubs: The first pathfinder hubs will open in early 2026, offering care for menopause, period problems, contraception and pelvic pain.
• Research and innovation: A Women’s Health Research Sandpit event in early 2026 will drive collaboration and shape future priorities.
• Creative engagement: Poetry workshops and events will invite women, girls and NHS staff to use poetry as a way to spark conversation around women’s health. Led by National Poets Hanan Issa and Gwyneth Lewis alongside 12 commissioned poets, the project will culminate in a bilingual anthology published by Honno Press in February 2026.

Together, we’re building a fairer, more responsive system for women and girls across Wales.

Pathfinder Women’s Health Hubs

A key short-term action in the Women’s Health Plan is the development of a pathfinder women’s health hub in each health board in Wales by the end of March 2026.

Across Wales, health boards are designing new ways to help women access the healthcare they need quickly, easily and in ways that fit their lives. The long-term aim is consistent, high-quality, personalised women’s healthcare for everyone, wherever they live.

The first Pathfinder Women’s Health Hubs will launch in early 2026. The learning from these initial hubs and evaluation will shape a wider rollout in the following months. Each hub is being developed locally to deliver personalised care which meets the particular needs of women in that area.

Some will have a physical base, some will be virtual, and mobile hubs may visit communities where specific services are needed. Hubs will provide clear information and easier access to care for menopause, period problems, contraception, and pelvic pain. Not all services will be available in every pathfinder hub at first and a single service specification is being created so that, once the model is fully rolled out, all health boards deliver services to the same standards.

These hubs will make it easier to get care closer to home and at the right time, helping to reduce waiting times for those who need hospital treatment.

Improving Care for Women with Gynaecological Cancer in Wales

NHS Wales is working hard to improve services and outcomes for women affected by gynaecological cancers. The Gynaecology Cancer Site Group, hosted by NHS Wales Performance and Improvement, brings together experts from across Wales to tackle key challenges and ensure high-quality care.

What’s happening?

• Working towards an aim of ensuring women have consistent access to important services, such as post-menopausal bleeding & unscheduled bleeding on HRT services and high-quality outpatient hysteroscopy.
• Participation in the National Ovarian audit and scoping a National Endometrial cancer audit to help improve standards and share best practice.
• Genetic and molecular testing have been expanded across cancer pathways to support personalised treatment decisions, precision medicine and identifying individuals at increased risk.
• Expanding indications for PET scanning to facilitate cancer staging

By the end of the financial year, the new All Wales Guideline for Pregnancy, Contraception and Cancer will be published. This will help Welsh clinicians to support cancer patients with clear, consistent advice around contraception.

In October, a Gynaecological Cancer Education Event was held at Swansea.com Stadium for healthcare professionals involved in the care of patients with gynaecological cancers. It was an excellent opportunity to learn, network, and share best practice in gynaecological cancer care.

The National Cancer Team has recently appointed a Clinical Fellow to lead a project looking at the emergency presentations of ovarian cancer in Wales. It is known that approximately 40% of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer in Wales present in emergency settings and this work will help to understand why and improve care pathways.

Specialist Women’s Health Services: Endometriosis and Abortion Care

We recognise the need to improve access to specialist services in some areas of Women’s Health. Welsh Government is working with the Women’s Health Network, the Gynaecology Clinical Implementation Network (GCIN) and Joint Commissioning Committee (JCC) to explore commissioning specialist services, including tertiary care for endometriosis and surgical abortion.

Endometriosis and adenomyosis are key focus areas, with work underway to reduce waiting times, enhance clinical training, and ensure symptoms are taken seriously. Dedicated pathways within Women’s Health Hubs and expanded online resources will support earlier diagnosis and better management closer to home.

A Task & Finish Group has been formed, bringing together key clinicians from across Wales with specialist skills.). This group will develop a service specification to establish nationally commissioned specialist services for tertiary endometriosis care in Wales.

This work responds to concerns that current service provision falls short of patient needs and national standards. The aim is to collaborate with the NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee to ensure a national commitment to an improved standard of care for patients affected by endometriosis.

Strengthening relationships between primary and secondary care is a key priority, ensuring patients experience smooth transitions between services. Patient-centred care will remain at the heart of this work, with patient representatives engaged at key stages to ensure their voices are heard and amplified.

We are also working to improve access to abortion services for women in Wales where their needs cannot be met locally.  Currently, if a Health Board cannot offer an abortion procedure locally (perhaps due to late gestation or complex medical needs) contracts exist with an independent provider. This may mean that some women have to travel to get the care they need.

Recent scoping data has been collected by Welsh Government and the Women's Health Network which shows what services are available locally and how many procedures are carried out outside NHS Wales. Working with Stakeholders and Clinical Leads from across Wales, we are developing recommendations to develop a sustainable plan that ensures women across Wales can access safe, timely, and fair abortion care close to home when their needs go beyond routine services

A Period Proud Wales

A Period Proud Wales Plan was launched in February 2023 and sets out the Welsh Government’s approach to ensuring period dignity by 2027.

Welsh Government provides funding through the Period Dignity Grant to every local authority in Wales. This is to ensure free period products are available within all schools, colleges and community settings, such as libraries, leisure centres etc.

There are many exciting examples of how this funding is being used innovatively. Many local authorities have ‘Pick and Mix’ stands in a variety of locations where people can choose from a range of period products, and this is becoming more commonplace across Wales. 

Community events are being held in libraries and community settings to highlight the benefits of using period underwear and giving people, who would not have afforded to, the opportunity to try these products.

Every local authority has a designated Period Dignity Lead, they can provide advice and guidance on the products and training available through the grant. Additional information may also be found on local authority websites.

You can also track progress against the actions within the Period Proud Wales Action Plan on the Welsh Government website or contact period.dignity@gov.wales for further information.

Bloody Brilliant, a source of knowledge, support, information and empowerment for women, girls and people who have periods, will shortly include a new, free period product locator tool, so anyone can make a search for where products are available, free of charge, across Wales. 

Women’s Health Research Wales (WHRW) has officially launched — a major step forward for women’s health in Wales

Established on 1 April 2025 and funded by Welsh Government through Health and Care Research Wales, Women’s Health Research Wales (WHRW) is one of five new centres created to drive innovation where it’s needed most. 

For too long, women’s health has been under-researched and underrepresented. WHRW is here to change that. The centre will unite experts, NHS partners, industry, and communities across Wales to create a strong, collaborative network. Its mission is bold and long overdue: to tackle the long-standing inequalities that affect the health and wellbeing of girls, women, and people assigned female at birth.

The centre’s work spans four important areas — supporting healthy transitions across the life course, improving management of early and long-term health conditions, shining a light on rare or stigmatised conditions, and ensuring underserved communities are never left behind. WHRW’s focus goes far beyond reproductive health, addressing conditions unique to women, those that disproportionately affect women, and those that present differently in women.

By building a vibrant network, WHRW aims to spark new ideas, co-produce meaningful research, shape future policy, and nurture the next generation of women’s health leaders. This launch marks the start of a transformative movement — one that puts women’s health at the centre of research, innovation, and care in Wales.

Visit our website at https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/research/explore/research-units/womens-health-research-wales 

New Making Every Contact Count Level 2 eLearning Module – Sign Up Today!

Every conversation is a chance to make a difference.

Public Health Wales has launched a new interactive Making Every Contact Count (MECC) Level 2 eLearning module. Building on the foundations of Level 1, this course is designed to help professionals make the most of everyday conversations, supporting people to take small, achievable steps toward healthier lives.

Why take part?

• Enhance confidence and skills for meaningful behaviour change conversations
• Learn key messages and signposting across seven MECC health topics
• Make a positive impact on individuals requiring support
• Quick, flexible, and easy to access

The training is available to all staff in public-facing roles and aims to empower professionals to support lasting changes.

Find out more: Access MECC Level 1 and Level 2 eLearning modules, including topic-specific Healthy Weight and Alcohol Modules, downloadable posters, and supporting materials via the MECC website: https://mecc.publichealthnetwork.cymru/en/

Feedback can be shared with the MECC team at Publichealthwales.MECC@wales.nhs.uk to help shape future training.

Young people to receive new information about women’s health

All secondary school pupils will be able to access new education materials designed to help increase understanding about common women’s health conditions.