Health and Social Care

Key Facts:

• Women are the key users of health services, whether they are accessing these services for themselves or for their children.
  
  
• 91% of women with school age children said they take their children to the G.P. surgery.
  
  
• 61% of women take their children to school in the morning.
  
  
• Women are the key frontline deliverers of health services (79% of NHS staff.
  
  
• Many women still struggle to maintain the work/life balance.
  
  
• The vast majority of women are still carers (for their children and their parents and elderly relatives).
  
  
• The vast majority of women are responsible for running the home.
  
  
• Many women, particularly working women find clinic times difficult and would value responsive and flexible services at GP surgeries, and timed appointments in hospitals.
  
  
• Women would prefer a collation of services on one site, such as GP surgeries, dentists and screening services and located in centres that women visit for example a |Doctor's Surgery in a supermarket.
  
  
• Women prefer flexible working practices in order that they may fulfil their different roles – mother/carer – throughout the day.
  
  
• Women who work for the NHS have stressed the need for affordable and flexible childcare, particularly when they are working shifts.
  
  
• The school day and lack of after-school facilities cause problems running health services when staff need to pick their kids up.
  
  
• Women want easier access to information generally, with one central point to access information on childcare in particular. 
  
  
• Because more and more women with dependent children are working the ways in which women access health services is changing for example:
  
  
• The elimination of traditional, larger, open plan hospital wards and a move to modern, single sex accommodation.
  
  
• More flexible services with 500 new one-stop primary care centres.
  
  
• More responsive services with two-thirds of all outpatient appointments and inpatient appointments pre-booked by 2003/4.
  
  
• A consistent GP out-of-hours service from 2004 when a single call to NHS Direct will be a one-stop gateway to out-of-hours healthcare.
  
  
• More responsive services with the inclusion in NHS Direct of access to dentists and pharmacists.
  
  
• Mental health services expanded to provide women-only day centres in every health authority area. 
  
  
• A £100 million investment in the modernisation and improvement of over 200 maternity units.

Examples of Good Practice

NHS DIRECT

NHS Direct is a 24 hour nurse advice and health information service – providing confidential information on:

• What to do if you or your family are feeling ill.
  
  
• Particular health conditions.
  
  
• Local healthcare services, such as doctors, dentists, or late-night opening pharmacies.
  
  
• Self help and support organisations

Contact NHS Direct on www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk 

Another example of good practice demonstrating flexibility of service -

Sheffield's Women's Health Bus.

• A mobile health bus to provide health services for hard to reach groups of women and previous non - users of services
  
  
• A large number of clients (85%) are from areas of social and economic
  
  
• deprivation and / or areas of a high black and ethnic minority population. 
  
  
• No appointment is needed.
  
  
• Primary health care team is all female.
  
  
• The mobile team offers childcare provision.
  
  
• From January to July 2001, the service was used by 1,000 patients.
  
  
• A patient can see the nurse and doctor on the same day.

(Information taken from Women and Equality Unit.  How Health and Education Services are Delivering for Women. Better Services Better Working Lives)
 

Health Promotion

Cancer

Screening is a major public health activity which aims to detect a disease before symptoms appear or before the patient presents with the disease. There are many benefits as a consequence of screening. For many patients early identification and subsequent early intervention will result in an improved outcome.

Cervical Screening

In 2000, 30 women in Northern Ireland died of cervical cancer: yet it can be prevented. The simple test is offered every five years to women aged between 20 and 65 years. The majority of cases of cervical cancer occur in women who have never attended for a cervical smear test.

National guidance recommends that 80% of eligible women should be screened by the programme.

In Northern Ireland breast cancer was responsible for 289 deaths in 2000 Ninety three of these deaths occurred in women who were in the age range eligible for breast screening through the National Breast Screening Programme, that is 50 to 64 years.

All women aged 50 to 64 are routinely invited to be screened, every three years. At present women aged 65 and over are not routinely invited for screening for breast cancer although they may continue to attend if they wish. Currently there is no evidence that population screening is beneficial in women under 50 years of age.

In 1999/2000, 45,600 women were invited for breast screening, of whom 33,500 accepted- an uptake rate of almost 74%. 

(Source:Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland: A Statisitical Profile. Compiled and Edited by Dr Liz Mc Whirter. Information and Analysis Unit Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. 2002 Edition).