Report

Counting the cost: the economic impact of underserving women’s health

This report from UK think tank Re:State states that closing the gap on women’s health isn’t a cost the Government can avoid, but an investment it can’t afford to skip.

Re:State’s new report, Counting the cost, makes the case for treating women’s health as a core economic issue, not just as a niche health topic. Counting the cost argues that gynaecological and reproductive health, while important, are only the most visible parts of a much bigger problem: a healthcare system that underserves women across the board.

This is the product of research gaps, misunderstood symptoms, and deprioritised services. With women driving roughly 40% of UK economic growth since 2000, and long-term sickness among women now a major driver of economic inactivity, the report argues the case for action is as economic as it is moral.

To close these gaps, Re:State calls on the Government to:

Establish a Women’s Health Evidence Unit at NICE to audit clinical guidelines, identify research gaps, and ensure findings change NHS practice;

Direct NIHR funding toward high-burden, low-evidence conditions; and make women’s health training mandatory for NHS staff, particularly in primary and emergency care.

It also calls on the Government to make sure that women can access appropriate care in a timelier way by installing clear referral pathways, presenting economic cases for investment to Integrated Care Boards, and developing a national repository to scale effective innovations.

Counting the cost makes clear that closing the gap on women’s health isn’t a cost the Government can avoid, but an investment it can’t afford to skip.