Select committee: Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 35
12th Report – Menstrual health of girls and young women
Published 4 Mar 2026
Addressed to Government Equalities Office
Women and Equalities Committee Reproductive health conditions: girls and young women All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
85% or more of women on elective gynaecology hospital waiting lists do not need to be there because there are effective treatments for their symptoms, which could be administered in primary or community-based care, if only they could access them. That is approaching half a million women in England with debilitating menstrual symptoms including severe pain and heavy bleeding, waiting needlessly and at risk of a deterioration in their symptoms. We agree with the Women’s Health Ambassador that this is a ludicrous situation. Women are suffering unnecessarily and it is wasting a vast amount of money. It is a national scandal, and the Government should be acting with urgency and vigour to solve the problem. (Conclusion, Paragraph 141)
From: Women and Equalities Committee, 12th Report – Menstrual health of girls and young women (HC 1265), 4 March 2026
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 26 May 2026 (deadline 4 May 2026).