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It results in lower quality, less effective health information communicated to women. Disparity between NHS.UK health information offered to men and women is unjustified discrimination. Women’s awareness and uptake of cervical screening has been on the wane.ĭespite this, NHS.UK has removed clear sex based language to support women’s health for cervical cancer and in other women only conditions, but not for men’s health.Ħ. Using cervical cancer as a worked example, previous research suggests 40% of women do not know they have a cervix and 21% of women over 50 don’t know that screening reduces risk of cervical cancer. Early recognition and presentation by women is essential for survival, reduces morbidity, burden of treatment and lowers NHS costs. Clear, unambiguous healthcare messaging that targets women is life-savingĮ.g. This then influences whether they will seek further advice or access to necessary clinical care. If sex is omitted, female patients may not fully understand that the literature relates to them or their own clinical risks. It should be easy to understand (in particular, the NHS guide to inclusive language stipulates to include sex when relevant in health information).Ĥ. This necessitates clear simple messaging to ensure health literature correctly targets the female population it is designed for women must recognise the information targeted at them.ĭ. Clinicians are therefore trained not to use jargon and instead use language that enables complex medical information to be communicated so that women can be best informed and most optimally engage about their own health so they can make proper decisions.Ĭ. In the UK 7.1 million adults read and write at or below the level of nine-year-olds, and critically, 43% of adults already do not understand written health information.”ī. that there is a health literacy crisis that directly impacts on people’s health.

NHS communication exists to promote and support the health and wellbeing of the UK population, of which over half are women. NHS Digital itself therefore acknowledges that there is no documented evidence base for their actions.ģ. without consideration of how women feel.Ģ. In the FOI response, NHS Digital informed us that it had no recorded information which sets out the “guidance/evidence/rationale to support the removal/reduction of reference to woman/women”. without particular attention to the women who are most likely to be disadvantaged and excluded from their own health literature,į. without any comprehensive analysis of the likely impact on women’s health, awareness, access to treatment, health outcomes or trust in the NHS,Į. without an independent legal opinion regarding its acceptability under the Equality Act 2010 (discrimination on the basis of sex),Ĭ. Our FOIs indicate that this is an ongoing explicit strategy that has taken place:ī.

The responses (found here, and here) confirmed that NHS Digital had taken the decision to remove the words ‘woman’ and ‘women’ from information on women’s health issues, in particular cancers affecting women. We submitted Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to NHS Digital which is responsible for the health information content on the NHS.UK website.

Specifically, the NHS must use women’s words for women’s bodies and women’s health problems. We call for the reinstatement of sex-based, respectful communication that meets the healthcare needs of women.

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Full impact assessments should have been done before any changes to communications. Removal of sex-based language is discriminatory and could leave the NHS open to legal challenge. The current removal of the language of women in healthcare communication harms women and undermines health outcomes. The Clinical Advisory Network on Sex and Gender is a multidisciplinary group of clinicians concerned about changes to the NHS.UK website which have removed accurate and respectful terminology about women’s health. Re: The importance of the word “woman” in communication about women’s health To: Chief Executives for NHS England, NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care, Northern Ireland: Amanda Pritchard, Caroline Lamb, Judith Paget and Peter MayĪnd, Chief Nursing Officers for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: Dame Ruth May, Alex McMahon, Sue Tranka and Maria McIlgorm.