The previous Welsh Government launched a 10-year Women’s Health Plan in December 2024¹.

The plan’s proposals include funding for research into women’s health conditions, improving access to treatment, better training of staff to take the views of women into account and improvements to health education & advice.

10 women’s health hubs were established across the country, but in many cases this is a website.

The new Welsh Government has taken the existing Women’s Health Plan forward, but has expressed an eagerness to gather more views from women to shape plans – though this may cause a delay².

Campaigners have argued that women’s concerns – particularly around pain during treatment, or when presenting symptoms that include pain – have been too easily dismissed by medical professionals, or otherwised “normalised”.

Certain conditions which cause pain but lack a proper explanation or cause are more common in women, such as fibromyalgia. There have been longstanding campaigns for better diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis, pelvic floor conditions, as well as better understanding and awareness of the health (mental & physical) impacts of menopause.

According to the Women’s Health Plan, up to 60% of women in the UK have at least one symptom of a pelvic floor condition, while there’s a 50% chance of women having symptoms of a heart attack missed because they appear differently to men.

Around 10% of women in Wales have endometriosis, and up to 1 in 8 women have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).