Women's health fund and extra GP appointment information: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Information requested
1. The Scottish Government set aside £250k for a women's health fund in the Programme for Government. Could you define what a woman is for this purpose?
2. Could you supply all correspondence held, minutes/notes from meetings and briefings between the government and GPs and GP bodies about the extra GP appointments announced in the PFG, since the PFG announcement?
Response
1. The answer to your first question is:
The establishment of Women's Health Research Fund was included as a long-term action within the 2021-24 Women's Health Plan.
The Women's Health Plan uses the term 'women/woman' throughout, noting that it is not only those who identify as women who require access to women’s health and reproductive health services. For example, some transgender men, non-binary people, and intersex people or people with variations in sex characteristics may also experience menstrual cycles, pregnancy, endometriosis and the menopause.
The actions included within the Plan, including the establishment of a Women’s Health Research Fund, make clear that all healthcare services should be respectful and responsive to individual needs.
The Women's Health Research Fund will be open to applications for funding focussing on menstrual health and gynaecological conditions, menopause, pelvic floor health, healthy ageing and long-term conditions, with the aim of closing gaps we know exist in women’s health research.
2. I enclose a copy of all the information you requested.
About FOI
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Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG