“There is a history of women’s health being ignored and 750,000 patients waiting for hospital treatment is worrying. The truth is that a large majority of these women do not need hospital based care, if only the right virtual and community based alternatives were available.
 
Face-to-face hospital based care is the right place for those that need acute care, but for many conditions, often in the context of menopause related symptoms, community care is the faster way to help women. And this includes innovative pathways like telemedicine, where a patient can be given an immediate treatment plan without having to set foot into a physical healthcare setting.
 
At Consultant Connect we’ve virtually triaged 1000s of gynaecology referrals for NHS trusts around the country and our data show that one third to half of gynaecological referrals don’t need to be on hospital waiting lists. On average 30-40% of patients receive treatment plans written up by 'virtual' NHS gynaecologists that their GPs can enact immediately and another large cohort is directed to community based care like women's' hubs if available in their area. Not only does this deliver faster care, but also reduces stress, anxiety and unnecessary time of work, childcare and travel that comes with months long waits and hospital appointments.
 
“We hope that the government will deliver on its community-first promises and that the next 10 year NHS plan ensures community based women's health hubs as well as virtual pathways become the new normal.”