International Women's Day | 8th March

International Women’s Day | 8thMarch | Browns Pharmacy

This article has been written and medically approved by Pharmacist Conor McSorley GPhC Reg No. 2223070

The UK currently sits 12th globally for the largest female health gap and has the largest gap of any G20 country. The outcomes that women experience when it comes to their health have been shown by many studies to be worse than when compared with men’s. Studies have shown women make fewer appointments with the GP, receive less health monitoring and are even more likely to be taking potentially harmful medication. Other studies have shown that men presenting with acute pain are more likely to be given opioid painkillers than women, who generally had to wait longer to receive any prescribed painkillers.

A main cause for the discrepancy in the healthcare of men and women can be put down to women being routinely underrepresented in clinical trials. It has been suggested that this was due to the fact that for decades, women were excluded from clinical drug trials based, in part, on unfounded concerns that female hormone fluctuations make women difficult to study. Until the early 1990s, any women of childbearing age would have been excluded from clinical trials due to the potential risk of exposing pregnant women to new drugs. Even down to cell and animal studies, the choice was predominately in favour of male subjects, ‘creating assumptions that similar medical treatments will work for both sexes.’

Luckily, the Government are now aware of these issues, in March 2021, Nadine Dorries, the Minister for Patient Safety, Suicide Prevention and Mental Health intended to create the first government-led national women’s health strategy for England. This would involve:

  • Placing women’s voices at the centre of their health and care;
  • Improving the quality and accessibility of information and education on women’s health;
  • Ensuring the health and care system understands and is responsive to women’s health and care needs across the life course;
  • Maximising women’s health in the workplace;
  • Ensuring that research, evidence and data support improvements in women’s health; and
  • Understanding and responding to the impacts of Covid-19 on women’s health.

Browns Pharmacy continue to provide services and products specifically targeted to help women. 

  • Our Urinary Tract Infection service provides antibiotics to women faster than a GP appointment would allow, meaning that any women aged 16 to 60 years old* can receive same day antibiotics and start the course quickly, reducing the time of suffering.
  • Our Emergency Hormonal Contraception service can allow women to receive the most appropriate contraceptive option free of charge through a local NHS service*. This private, confidential and anonymous consultation  can empower women with help and support that may be needed with no appointment necessary.

*dependent upon location and subject to pharmacist discretion and availability

[https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/womens-health-outcomes-is-there-a-gender-gap/]