Why Scotland Needs a Minister for Women’s Health
Scrapping a dedicated women’s health brief sends a clear message – despite the rhetoric, it is no longer a priority to the SNP
Scotland loves to talk about being progressive on women’s health. Back in 2021, I celebrated the fact Holyrood had launched the first Women’s Health Plan in the UK. Watching ministers stood at podiums and making promises about improving menopause care, menstrual health, endometriosis and tackling health inequality – I felt real change was on its way at last.
But here we are five years on, still treating women’s health like a side project.
Because if women’s health genuinely mattered to the SNP Government, it would have a dedicated Cabinet-level minister with power, budget and accountability attached to the role.
Instead, it’s been shoved into “health” – and we all know what that means.
Women’s health will now be squeezed in between other health announcements, no doubt wheeled out on International Women’s Day before the minister quietly moves on.
Not prioritising a proper Minister for Women’s Health says more than any glossy strategy document ever could.
Identifying the problem is not enough
Speaking of which, the Scottish Government’s own Women’s Health Plan admitted that women’s health has historically been “disregarded or dismissed as ‘women’s problems’, as well as acknowledging that 51% of the population experience systemic inequalities in healthcare.
Not that this is news to us. We know this because we live it.
We live the years-long waits for endometriosis diagnoses, the missed heart attack symptoms, the postcode lottery in reproductive healthcare. The reality of having to become researchers, campaigners and advocates just to get basic care taken seriously.
What is most frustrating about this is – Scotland actually knows what the problems are. They were laid out clearly in the Women’s Health Plan, with actions covering menopause, menstrual health, contraception, heart health and research gaps.
Plans are easy, however. Implementation is harder. And that requires leadership.
Instead of putting women’s health first, the Scottish Government has scattered it across policies, NHS boards and short-term initiatives, with nobody visibly driving it at the highest level. And when responsibility is diluted, accountability disappears with it.
Now campaigners have lost their key contact in the Scottish Government, making it even more difficult to highlight the ever-growing need for reform and change.
Still fighting after all these years
Women’s health is not a niche policy – something nice to have, but not really important. A country serious about ending health inequalities would understand that.
Instead, we’re still fighting to be heard on issues that should have been solved years ago.
Take later-term abortion care. At present, it is practically impossible to get abortion care in Scotland after 20 weeks. As a result, vulnerable women have to travel to England for treatment.
Think about that for a second.
A government that proudly talks about dignity and equality still has women travelling hundreds of miles during some of the most distressing moments of their lives because the system has failed to provide care at home.
That is not progressive.
John Swinney says he’ll be a “First Minister for all of Scotland”. Right now, he’s abandoned half of us.
