Scotland’s feminist policy and advocacy organisation Engender has called on the Scottish Government to set up a Scottish Institute for Women’s Health as they say more needs to be done to ensure funding and accountability for their current plans. 

The Scottish Institute for Women's Health was a commitment in the 2021-2024 Women's Health Plan. However, it has not yet been established. The plan was created to address health inequalities for women in Scotland and improve their health outcomes.

Writing exclusively for The Herald, Engender, said the establishment of the institute would “drive changes to policy, guidance and medical training” to improve women’s healthcare. 

Catherine Murphy, Executive Director, Engender said: “Engender has called for all political parties in Scotland to commit to this initiative. We believe there is a need for a permanent body that can help drive the necessary systemic changes to policy, research medical training and use of data that is needed in the long term to improve women’s health experiences and outcomes.” 

In 2021, Scotland became the first nation in the UK to publish a plan specifically on women’s health. 

During a debate around the 2021-2024 Women’s Health Plan in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday, Women’s Health minister Jenni Minto said she was pleased to see the government “make progress” with the plan during a “challenging time” for NHS and public services. 

However, facing criticism from opposition across the chamber around the lack of progress around commitments included in the plan, the minister accepted the government had “made slow progress” in addressing “stubbornly high” health inequalities experienced by women in Scotland. 

The minister singled out progress in the plan such as the appointment of a women’s health champion, a specialist menopause service established in every health board and “a buddy support system” in place on islands. 

However, Ms Minto came under fire from opposition parties over the delay to other aspects of the plan such as the lack of progress made around Endometriosis waiting times. 

In its plan, the Scottish Government committed to reducing waiting times for diagnosing endometriosis from over 8 years to less than 12 months by 2026.

Yet waiting times have increased to eight years and 10 months in Scotland since the plan was written up in 2021, according to research carried out in March this year by Endometriosis UK. 

Scottish Conservative spokesperson for women’s health, Annie Wells MSP said the SNP’s plan fails to outline how they will tackle key issues such as this. 

Ms Wells said: “Despite one in ten Scottish women suffering from endometriosis, it still takes a minimum of ten appointments with a GP to receive this diagnosis.

“These waits are terrifying and upsetting for women and the SNP have shamefully broken their promise to reduce waiting times to a year.

“The blame does not lie with overworked GPs who are overwhelmed thanks to dire workforce planning from successive SNP health secretaries, and simply cannot meet demand.

“The SNP must urgently respond to these concerns and commit to providing proper funding for women’s health so they always receive crucial treatment as soon as possible.”

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Speaking in the chamber about the issue, Jenny Minto said she recognised that waiting times for a diagnosis for endometriosis are “too long” and said the government has jointly funded a quarter of a million pound research project with wellbeing and women which aims to develop a new treatment option for endometriosis associated pain. 

Ms Minto added: “We’ve still got work to do but it’s certainly on our radar.” 

Commenting on Engender’s call for action around women’s health issues and action taken since the plan was established,  Ms Minto said: "The Plan has brought positive changes for women and girls across the country. We have appointed Professor Anna Glaiser OBE as Women’s Health Champion and established a Women’s Health Lead in every NHS Board. Through the Plan, we have created a digital resource packed with information on women’s health. This Parliament has passed a new law on abortion services safe access zones to protect women and staff accessing and providing these services.

“But we know there is still a long way to go. We remain committed to the principles articulated for a Scottish Institute for Women’s Health to drive change in women’s health.

“Scotland is a nation of innovation and we have funded endometriosis research projects which seek to address the key issues of developing non-invasive diagnosis and more effective treatment with the ultimate aim of working towards a cure for endometriosis. We will consider how best to reflect the importance of research on the health of women and girls throughout the next phase of the plan.”