Comment EDITOR’S COMMENTwith LOUISE FRAMPTON THE CLINICAL SERVICES JOURNAL Editor


Louise Frampton louiseframpton@stepcomms.com


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STEP COMMUNICATIONS ISSN No. 1478-5641


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Still waiting for a way forward…


The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is warning that 2026 must be a turning point for women waiting for gynaecology care and is calling on the UK Government to go further and faster to tackle the gynaecology waiting list crisis. Despite Government commitments to reduce NHS waiting lists, the picture for women remains deeply concerning over a year on from the RCOG’s Waiting for a Way Forward report. The number of women on waiting lists only dropped by 3% since November 2024 with 743,312 women remaining on the list. If every woman currently waiting stood shoulder to shoulder, the queue would stretch over 191 miles – just one mile shorter than a year ago – taking almost two full days to walk from end to end.


Demand in England has grown, with 1.61 million gynaecology referrals between October 2024


– October 2025, up from 1.22 million between October 2019 and October 2020 - an increase of around 24%. To meet the Government’s target of seeing 92% of patients within 18 weeks by March 2029, performance would need to improve by around 1 percentage point every month from now on. Based on the current trajectory, the Government will fail to meet this target. New analysis also reveals deep and persistent inequalities across England:


l Women living in the most deprived areas make up the highest share of those waiting the longest for care. They account for 15% of those waiting more than 52 weeks, compared with 7% from the least deprived areas.


l Waiting lists have risen most sharply among women from Black and Asian backgrounds, and incomplete ethnicity data suggests the true scale may be underestimated.


RCOG is calling on the Government to deliver urgent support for women waiting now, protect and expand Women’s Health Hubs so care is available closer to home, and using the renewal of the Women’s Health Strategy and 10-Year Health Plan to fix the underlying capacity issues driving long waits.


Dr. Alison Wright, President of the RCOG said: “Our members are working tirelessly to meet rising demand, but pressures across services mean capacity is stretched at every stage of care. With the right investment, there is a real opportunity to change this situation for women. By re-prioritising the health needs of 51% of the population, we can make genuine improvements to women’s lives - ensuring they can access the high-quality care they need, when they need it.” While waiting, women are impacted by serious, often painful gynaecological conditions that


have a devastating impact on their daily lives. Many are left struggling to work, care for families, or lead normal lives. India Weir, who shared her experience in 2024’s Waiting for a Way Forward report, is still waiting for the right gynaecological care more than a year later, despite having surgery in July 2025. She commented: “I often feel like I have to be the specialist in my own care, keeping track of every detail because I don’t know when I’ll next be able to speak to someone or even access my notes. I have no mental energy left for the parts of life that should feel normal - seeing friends, being with family, even planning a holiday.” NHS England’s own analysis shows that women make up a higher percentage of the waiting list (57%) compared to men (43%), and women are more likely to be waiting over 18 and 52 weeks than men. We must tackle this inequality. While some progress is being achieved in some areas of women’s health, with menopause being included in routine NHS health checks for the first time, the Government must go much further to reduce the waiting lists for women waiting in pain and distress. View the full report at: https://tinyurl.com/ytu8c9wk


louiseframpton@stepcomms.com Get in touch and give us your views, email me:


February 2026 I www.clinicalservicesjournal.com 5


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