Healthcare Provision: Inequalities

Baroness Pitkeathley Excerpts

Monday 20th October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Brown of Silvertown]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of inequalities in the provision and experience of healthcare among different population groups; and what plans they have to address this.

[Baroness Pitkeathley (Lab)]

My Lords, on behalf of my noble friend Lady Brown of Silvertown, and at her request, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in her name on the Order Paper.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Baroness Merron) (Lab)]

My Lords, the report on the NHS by the noble Lord, Lord Darzi, casts light on a range of health inequalities which are both stark and unacceptable. In response, our 10-year plan for the NHS in England sets out a re-imagined service designed to tackle inequalities in access and outcomes for everyone, no matter who they are or where they live.

[Baroness Pitkeathley (Lab)]

My noble friend Lady Brown’s supplementary is about the experience of women. Last month, the Secretary of State for Health went on record saying that women should have consistent pain relief when coils are fitted. My noble friend has campaigned for 10 years to get proper pain relief for women who are undergoing hysteroscopies. Manchester is piloting a way to deliver this, though many other hospitals are ignoring it. Can my noble friend the Minister assure the House that the Government are seriously looking at this and monitoring what Manchester is doing in this regard?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I can indeed give that assurance, and I am grateful to my noble friend Lady Brown for her voice on the matter of women’s poor hysteroscopy experiences. These are unacceptable and part of a wider issue of women’s pain being normalised. Women must be given the opportunity to discuss pain relief with a clinician before the procedure. While I am glad to say that updated guidelines from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists do emphasise minimising pain, it is clear that more action is needed. I assure my noble friend that we are updating the Women’s Health Strategy for England to address what I believe is a wider issue, and to improve the experiences of women across the country.