Closed petition Offer ultrasound scans to women as soon as they have a positive pregnancy test

By providing an ultrasound screening to women as early as they find out they are pregnant, there are more chances to detect and prevent an ectopic pregnancy, and avoid unnecessary surgery. Other countries offer screenings at around 4-5 weeks.

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I had to remove one of my fallopian tubes a year ago due to an ectopic pregnancy and spend 3 months to heal in bed as I do a practical job. I am also a self-employed, so I was not getting paid for 3 months. Even though I had some bad symptoms, I was refused an early ultrasound from NHS, and going private is not always an easy option for everyone. By providing earlier screenings, you could prevent help detect and prevent ectopic pregnancies, and the cost this creates for the NHS. An ectopic pregnancy can be fatal and more action is needed. An ectopic pregnancy can also affect mother's mental health.

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New Women's Health Strategy published by the Government

On Wednesday 20 July the Government published the first ever Women's Health Strategy for England. This document sets out the results of the consultation the Government ran in 2021 on women's health, and the actions it is taking to improve the health of women and girls.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Steve Barclay MP, made a statement on the Strategy and took questions from MPs in the House of Commons, to coincide with the publication of the strategy.

The Secretary of State's statement outlined the key ambitions and elements of the Strategy. These include:

  • Ensuring that women are better listened to in the NHS
  • Better access to services for all women and girls
  • Addressing the lack of research into women’s health conditions
  • Better information and education on issues relating to women’s health
  • Targeted action on specific areas such as fertility treatment, pregnancy loss, and female-specific health conditions such as endometriosis.

Actions the Government has said it will take to help achieve these goals include introducing mandatory teaching and assessment on women’s health for all graduating medical students and incoming doctors, and undertaking new research and data gathering to increase understanding of women's health issues.

You can read the Strategy in full on the UK Government website. The Strategy only covers England as government policy on health matters is devolved in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Commitments on maternity safety and pregnancy loss

The Strategy sets out ambitions to provide personalised and high-quality care to women during pregnancy. It commits to publishing a new NHS England delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services with clear priorities for improving the safety of pregnant women and their babies.

It also sets an ambition to improve the support available to women and their partners who experience pregnancy loss, including supporting them through future pregnancies, and confirms the Government will introduce a pregnancy loss certificate to enable parents in England who have experienced a pre-24 weeks pregnancy loss to record this.

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