The UK government has published a renewed Women’s Health Strategy for England that includes a £1.5 million Femtech challenge fund designed to accelerate adoption of innovations that could transform women’s healthcare. The fund sits within a broader set of reforms aimed at overhauling how the NHS serves women – from gynaecology waiting lists to pain relief during procedures.
Details on the femtech fund’s structure, eligibility criteria, and timeline have not yet been published, but its inclusion in a national health strategy signals government-level recognition that innovation in women’s health innovation is a policy priority, not just a venture capital thesis.
The wider strategy addresses systemic issues that will be familiar to anyone working in this space. Gynaecology care will be streamlined through a single referral point to cut the years-long diagnostic delays common for conditions like endometriosis and fibroids – over 565,000 women are currently on gynaecology waiting lists. New standards of care will be introduced for pain relief during invasive gynaecological procedures including contraceptive fitting and hysteroscopies, addressing what the government describes as “outdated and misogynistic practices.”
In a notable accountability mechanism, the strategy will trial linking women’s feedback directly to provider funding – effectively allowing patient experience to influence where NHS money goes.
“We need to hit medical misogyny where it hurts – the wallet,” said Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting. “Women’s voices must be central to delivering effective, respectful and empathetic care.”
Other measures include redesigned clinical pathways for heavy periods, urogynaecology, and menopause; a £1 million programme to improve menstrual education in schools; specialist regional centres for group-based care; a menopause symptom question added to standard NHS Health Checks for adults aged 40-74 (reaching up to 5 million women); and continued investment in research through the NIHR including new sex and gender policies in health research.
“Diagnosis times for endometriosis are going up not down and it’s now taking an average of 9 years 4 months – rising to 11 years for diverse ethnic communities – which is totally unacceptable,” said Emma Cox, chief executive of Endometriosis UK.
For the femtech ecosystem, the £1.5 million challenge fund is modest in absolute terms but meaningful as a signal. Government procurement and adoption remain among the biggest barriers for health technology startups in the UK, and a dedicated fund specifically aimed at accelerating NHS adoption of femtech innovations could open doors that are currently difficult for early-stage companies to access.
