Evaluating the 10-Year Health Plan: Will it turn the tide on current challenges in women’s health?

June 24, 2025

Mother and newborn. Child birth in maternity hospital. Young mom hugging her newborn baby after delivery. Woman giving birth. First moments of baby life after labor. — Image: ©NataliaDeriabina iStock

In this OAG exclusive, Dr Ranee Thakar, MD FRCOG, President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), discusses why women’s healthcare must be a priority within the new 10-Year Health Plan, and identifies questions to ask to evaluate its potential to drive improvements

In October 2024, the government announced the development of a new 10-Year Health Plan, aiming to modernise the NHS in order to secure its long-term survival.^(1,2) The plan will centre on three “shifts” – moving care from hospital to community, implementing new technologies and digital approaches, and focusing on preventing ill-health. The development of the plan necessitated a much-needed governmental review of the needs of those who use and those who work in health and care services, and provides a welcome opportunity to create a more efficient and equitable health system, with a better-supported workforce and improved patient outcomes.

When I was elected President of the RCOG in 2022, I promised to listen to and represent women and our members, and work with political and health leaders to improve the quality and safety of women’s health. I therefore welcome the government’s ambition to improve the NHS, and the College has engaged extensively to ensure the views of healthcare professionals, women and people with lived experience were represented during the plan’s advancement.

With publication of the highly-awaited plan due imminently, at the College we have been considering how we might assess the plan to ensure appropriate focus has been placed on gynaecology and maternal health throughout, particularly as the government has committed to prioritising women’s health in their policies.

Why the plan must prioritise women’s health

It is vital that women’s health is prioritised within the 10-Year Health Plan. Those of us working in women’s health can attest that services are currently stretched to their limit. As a practicing Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, I continually witness the dedication and tireless hard work of maternity and women’s health teams, but there simply aren’t enough specialist staff or appropriate healthcare services to provide the safe, personalised and compassionate care that every woman deserves.

We know there are women living with serious gynaecology conditions waiting months and sometimes even years for diagnosis and treatment, families not receiving the high-quality maternity care they deserve, including vital peri- and post-natal mental health support, and inadequate health education, including how to spot and act on gynaecology cancer symptoms.

The National State of Patient Safety 2024⁽³⁾ report shows that for the first time in a decade, rates of maternal and neonatal deaths rose. The data also indicates maternal death rates for women from Black ethnic backgrounds are almost three times higher than for White women. The report authors recognise that the government is unlikely to meet its targets for reductions in stillbirths, maternal deaths, neonatal deaths and serious brain injury by 2025, and underline the continued need for prioritising safety and reducing inequalities in maternity and neonatal care.

The RCOG report Waiting for a Way Forward: Voices of Women and Healthcare Professionals at the Centre of the Gynaecology Care Crisis⁽⁴⁾ shows that gynaecological ill-health can be debilitating, impacting multiple aspects of women’s life including personal relationships, family wellbeing, friendships, education, work, hobbies, physical health, mental health and sleep. Women reported feeling withdrawn, isolated, fearful, and stressed with symptoms such as pain and bleeding preventing attendance at social activities or important events, forcing absence from work, and preventing them from accessing opportunities that would support their future. As well as the personal and financial burdens felt by women and their families, there are broad societal and economic impacts; it should concern all of us that women are being prevented from living full, healthy lives and reaching their potential.

An additional £1 invested in obstetrics and gynaecology services per woman in England could generate an estimated £319 million return to the economy.⁽⁵⁾ Despite this, women’s health remains under-prioritised and under-resourced. Consequently, our healthcare teams are working in challenging circumstances under significant pressure without the funding, resources, time and capacity needed to deliver the care they strive to provide, while opportunities to offer timely and high-quality care, to help women live longer and in good health, are missed.

However, if executed effectively, the 10-Year Health Plan could overhaul how women and girls are cared for by the health system through their lives and improve the experiences of both patients and healthcare professionals. In March, the RCOG published our ‘manifesto’ which emphasised that in order to successfully deliver improvements in women’s health, the 10-Year Health Plan must be underpinned by priorities including: maternity care and prevention; the reduction of gynaecology waiting times; a larger women’s health and maternity workforce with increased training opportunities; improvements to estates, and the creation of women’s health hubs so that women can access timely gynaecological care close to home.

Key questions for the 10-Year Health Plan to ensure it drives improvements in women’s health

When reviewing the 10-Year Health Plan, the RCOG will ask the following questions, to evaluate whether its implementation will deliver improved working conditions for obstetricians and gynaecologists, and better maternal and gynaecological health outcomes for women.

Delivering improved outcomes for women

Has the plan provided a clear vision of how the health system will provide sustainable resources, capacity and focus to improve outcomes for women, including in gynaecology and maternity?

Supporting a diverse and inclusive workforce

Does the plan set out what actions will be taken to train, retain and support the O&G workforce, and make clear the role of other strategies, including the three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services, Long Term Workforce Plan and Women’s Health Strategy?

Women at the heart of co-production

Does the plan set out how it will meaningfully engage women and people with lived experience throughout the course of the 10-Year Health Plan, ensuring they have a clear role in every aspect of design, implementation and reviewing its progress?

Addressing health inequalities

Does the plan set out strong, cross-government targets to end inequalities across women’s health, so that all women in the UK can better access services and have better experiences of care?

Driving collaboration to enable prevention of poor health

Does the plan provide a clear action plan for how the government, at national and local levels, can collaborate better to act on the pre-determinants of health and support prevention?

Transforming care

Does the plan commit to supporting the implementation of women’s health hubs so that all women can access vital care closer to home and across their life course?

Resolving commissioning

Does the plan set out how it will enable joined up commissioning in women’s health?

Improving insight

Has the plan committed to efficient but essential data collection and analysis to inform the design of equitable and effective services, support high quality research and deliver robust workforce planning?

Driving research and innovation

Has the plan committed to investing in research and development into women’s health, especially given that women’s health conditions are less researched and understood?

I hope that when we ask our questions of the 10-Year Health Plan, the ambition to improve women’s healthcare is clear, and that it turns the tide on the current challenges in gynaecology and maternity care. We wait in anticipation, ready to work with the government and healthcare leaders to transform the NHS and women’s healthcare delivery.