In July 2022, the UK government published its first ever Women's Health Strategy for England — and for the millions of women living with PCOS, endometriosis, and other hormonal conditions, that moment felt significant.

Over 100,000 women responded to the public consultation that led to it. Let that sink in for a second. One hundred thousand women, raising their hands to say: something needs to change.

But here's the question that actually matters: what does this strategy mean in practice — for the woman sitting in a GP appointment being told her bloods are "normal," or the one who's been waiting eight years for an endometriosis diagnosis?

Let's get into it.

The Women's Health Strategy didn't come out of nowhere. It came out of decades of dismissal, under-diagnosis, and a persistent culture of minimising symptoms that affect women.

Of the 100,000+ women who responded to the government's consultation, 84% said they felt they hadn't been listened to by a healthcare professional [Women's Health Strategy for England, 2022]. More than 90% said they didn't have enough information about women's health issues.

You're not imagining it. The system has, for a very long time, not been built with women in mind.

The five areas respondents most wanted prioritised were:

• Gynaecological conditions
• Fertility, pregnancy, pregnancy loss, and postnatal support
• Menopause
• Menstrual health
• Mental health

That list will feel very familiar if you have PCOS, endometriosis, PMDD, or are navigating perimenopause. These are not niche concerns. They are the lived reality of millions of women in the UK — and for too long, they've been met with a shrug.

The fact that this strategy now exists is progress. Real, concrete progress. But progress isn't the same as resolution. So let's talk honestly about what's actually in it.

The Women's Health Strategy is a ten-year plan that commits to improving medical training, increasing research funding, and raising awareness of conditions like endometriosis and PCOS — though many specifics remain vague.

This is a ten-year plan, which means we're not going to see overnight transformation. The biases embedded in women's healthcare are deep and structural. Dismantling them takes time, money, and cultural shift — not just policy language.

That said, here are the commitments worth knowing about.

One of the most meaningful long-term changes is at the level of medical training. The General Medical Council (GMC) has introduced a new assessment process for all new medical students from the 2024/25 academic year, covering women's health issues including menstrual problems and endometriosis [GMC Content Map, 2022].

This is genuinely important. If future GPs are better trained to recognise and take seriously conditions like endometriosis, that changes outcomes for patients — not immediately, but over time.

However — and this is worth noting — PCOS is not currently included on the list of conditions covered by this new assessment [GMC Content Map, 2022]. For a condition that affects an estimated 1 in 10 women of reproductive age in the UK [NICE, 2023], that's a significant gap.

The government has committed to commissioning a new policy unit within the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), specifically dedicated to reproductive health. This unit will carry out research to inform policy on menstrual health, gynaecological conditions, and the menopause.

The strategy also pledges to "encourage" research into the links between PCOS and metabolic syndrome — which, if it materialises, could be genuinely transformative. The PCOS-metabolic syndrome connection is one of the most clinically significant and underexplored areas in women's health.

Whether the "encouragement" translates into funded research programmes with clear deliverables remains to be seen.

The strategy states that NHS England is updating the service specification for severe endometriosis, to ensure specialist services have access to up-to-date evidence and improved standards of care.

Meanwhile, NICE — the body that publishes treatment guidelines for the NHS — was reviewing whether to update its guidance on endometriosis at the time of publication, and committed to "consider the development of a guideline on PCOS through the established processes for identifying and prioritising guidelines" [Women's Health Strategy, 2022].

It's a start. But it's cautious language that leaves room for inaction.

The strategy pledges to reduce endometriosis diagnosis times as part of its ten-year plan, but does not specify a target reduction or timeline, making progress difficult to measure.

This is where the strategy starts to feel frustratingly vague.

Diagnosis delays for endometriosis have been a persistent and well-documented crisis. In the UK, the average time from first symptoms to diagnosis has historically been around 8 to 10 years [Endometriosis UK, 2020]. That's nearly a decade of pain being normalised, dismissed, and managed with inadequate tools.

The Women's Health Strategy acknowledges this. It pledges that women with severe endometriosis will "experience better care, where diagnosis time is reduced on the journey from initial GP appointment through to final diagnosis" [Women's Health Strategy, 2022].

But there's no target. No measurable reduction. No clear accountability mechanism.

For the woman currently sitting in year three, four, or seven of her diagnostic journey — that ambiguity is cold comfort.

The progress that has been made in raising public awareness of endometriosis is real and meaningful. But awareness hasn't automatically translated into shorter diagnosis times or better access to specialist care. What's needed is structural change, more specialist endometriosis centres, better GP training on distinguishing endometriosis from "normal" period pain, and clear national standards for referral.

The strategy points in that direction. Whether the infrastructure and funding follow is the real question.

PCOS receives limited specific attention in the Women's Health Strategy, with commitments to encourage research and consider developing a NICE guideline — but no dedicated funding or clear targets.

Here's the honest picture for PCOS: the strategy acknowledges the condition, but it doesn't prioritise it.

PCOS is the most common hormonal condition affecting women of reproductive age. It affects ovulation, metabolism, skin, mood, and long-term health — including cardiovascular risk and type 2 diabetes [Bozdag et al., 2016]. Yet despite its prevalence, it remains poorly understood, inconsistently diagnosed, and under-supported within the NHS.

The strategy commits to:

• Encouraging research into PCOS and its links to metabolic syndrome
• Considering a NICE guideline on PCOS "through established processes"
• Including PCOS awareness as part of its ten-year ambition for women's health literacy

None of this is unwelcome. But "encouraging" and "considering" are not the same as doing. And the absence of PCOS from the new GMC assessment content is a missed opportunity, given how commonly newly qualified doctors will encounter it in practice.

The research gap matters most. PCOS involves insulin resistance, androgen excess, ovulatory dysfunction, and significant long-term metabolic implications — yet many women are diagnosed and sent away with a leaflet and a prescription for the pill, with no explanation of the underlying physiology.

This is what I wish someone had told me when I was diagnosed at 19: PCOS isn't just a reproductive condition. It's a metabolic one. And understanding that changes everything about how you approach it.

The evidence base for PCOS management has grown substantially in recent years. We know that:

• Insulin sensitivity plays a central role in PCOS for the majority of women [Diamanti-Kandarakis & Dunaif, 2012]
• Myo-inositol, a naturally occurring compound, has been shown in multiple studies to improve insulin sensitivity, ovulation regularity, and hormonal markers in women with PCOS [Unfer et al., 2017; Pkhaladze et al., 2015]
• Lifestyle interventions targeting blood sugar stability can significantly reduce androgen levels and restore ovulatory function [Moran et al., 2011]
• Folate and B vitamins play important roles in supporting metabolic and hormonal health, particularly in women trying to conceive [Gaskins & Chavarro, 2018]

The frustrating reality is that much of this evidence already exists. What's missing is systematic implementation — better training for GPs to discuss it, better communication to patients, and better access to interventions that go beyond hormonal contraception as the default.

The Women's Health Strategy aims for girls and young women to be aware of gynaecological conditions like endometriosis and PCOS, but neither condition is yet specifically included in the health education curriculum.

The strategy reiterates the government's commitment to mandatory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE), which now covers menstrual health and the menopause. This matters enormously — girls who understand their cycles are better equipped to recognise when something doesn't feel right.

But the strategy stops short of specifically including PCOS and endometriosis in the health curriculum. These conditions affect women from their teens onwards, often going unrecognised for years precisely because there's no baseline education about what normal vs. abnormal periods look like, or what PCOS symptoms feel like in a 16-year-old.

Hormonal literacy isn't complicated — it's just rarely taught. And the earlier it begins, the better the outcomes.

The Women's Health Strategy is a promise about the future. But you're living in your body today.

Waiting for systemic change doesn't mean waiting to take action. There's a growing evidence base for lifestyle and nutritional interventions that support both PCOS and endometriosis management — and much of it is within your control.

For PCOS specifically, the research consistently points to three foundational pillars:

1. Blood sugar and insulin stability Reducing glucose spikes through diet — prioritising protein, fibre, and healthy fats at meals — is one of the most evidence-supported interventions for PCOS [Moran et al., 2011]. This isn't about restriction. It's about giving your body stable fuel.

2. Supporting ovulation and hormonal balance Myo-inositol supplementation has a strong evidence base for improving ovulatory function and insulin sensitivity in PCOS [Unfer et al., 2017]. Alongside adequate folate and vitamin B6, it addresses some of the core metabolic and hormonal drivers of the condition.

3. Stress and nervous system regulation Cortisol dysregulation worsens both insulin resistance and androgen excess. Sleep, movement, and stress management are not optional add-ons — they're physiologically significant.

For endometriosis, the evidence is increasingly pointing toward an anti-inflammatory nutritional approach, gut health support, and careful management of oestrogen load through diet and lifestyle [Parazzini et al., 2013]. These are complementary to medical treatment, not replacements for it.

One of the most common questions I hear from women with PCOS is: "Where do I actually start?"

The evidence on myo-inositol is one of the clearest answers I can give.

Multiple randomised controlled trials have shown that myo-inositol — a naturally occurring compound that women with PCOS often produce less of — can meaningfully improve insulin sensitivity, restore ovulatory cycles, reduce testosterone levels, and support egg quality [Pkhaladze et al., 2015; Unfer et al., 2017].

Myoplus is MyOva's award-winning supplement formulated specifically for this. Each capsule contains:

• Myo-Inositol — the most clinically studied form, shown to improve insulin sensitivity and ovulation in PCOS
• Chromium Picolinate — supports healthy blood sugar regulation and reduces cravings
• Folate (as L-5-Methyltetrahydrofolate) — the active, bioavailable form of folate, important for hormonal health and particularly for women trying to conceive
• Vitamin B6 — supports hormonal balance and progesterone activity in the luteal phase

It's not a magic fix. But it gives your body what it's often missing — the nutritional building blocks to support hormonal regulation from the inside out.

If you're newly diagnosed with PCOS, navigating fertility challenges, or simply trying to understand what your body actually needs, Myoplus is a research-backed starting point.

The Women's Health Strategy is a landmark document. But it has real limitations — and naming them isn't cynicism, it's accountability.

The funding question remains unanswered. Women's health charities, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), and healthcare professionals have raised serious concerns about the apparent lack of dedicated funding to implement the strategy. A plan without resource is a wish list [RCOG, 2022].

PCOS needs more specific attention. A condition affecting 1 in 10 women should have more than a "we'll consider it" commitment in the country's first women's health strategy.

Diagnosis time targets for endometriosis need to be quantifiable. Vague ambitions are not actionable. Without specific targets and timelines, there's no meaningful way to measure whether care has actually improved.

Mental health provision for hormonal conditions is underdeveloped. PMDD, the psychological impact of endometriosis, and the anxiety and depression associated with PCOS are well-documented, yet mental health support specifically tailored to hormonal conditions barely features in the strategy [Cooney et al., 2017].

PCOS receives limited direct attention in the strategy. There are commitments to encourage research into PCOS and its links to metabolic syndrome, and a vague commitment to "consider" developing a NICE guideline on the condition. PCOS is not currently included in the new GMC medical student assessment content, which is a notable gap given how common the condition is.

The strategy pledges to reduce diagnosis times for endometriosis, but without specifying a target or timeline. Endometriosis UK and patient advocates have long called for concrete targets. As the strategy is implemented over its ten-year timeframe, whether diagnosis times measurably improve will be one of the key indicators of its success.

Working on the lifestyle foundations that support hormonal health — stable blood sugar, adequate protein, stress management, and evidence-backed supplementation — can make a real difference to how you feel, regardless of where the healthcare system is at. Myo-inositol in particular has a strong evidence base for PCOS. The research on this is actually pretty clear: what you do day-to-day has significant influence over your hormonal environment.

This has been a significant area of concern among charities and professional bodies. The strategy has been criticised for lacking dedicated funding commitments, with the RCOG and others highlighting that meaningful change requires both money and workforce planning.

Yes — menopause is one of the five priority areas highlighted by the public consultation. The strategy includes commitments around education, workplace support, and access to information on menopause, including HRT.

The Women's Health Strategy is a starting point — and a meaningful one.

For decades, women's health was an afterthought. This strategy says, formally and in writing, that it matters. The commitments on medical training, research infrastructure, and endometriosis services could genuinely improve outcomes for the women who come after us.

But we're still in year one of a ten-year plan. The vagueness around PCOS, the lack of specific diagnosis time targets for endometriosis, and the unanswered funding question are real concerns that deserve scrutiny.

Your diagnosis is a starting point, not a verdict. Whether the system catches up quickly or slowly, the tools available to you right now are more evidence-based than they've ever been. Understanding your hormones, advocating for better care, and building the nutritional foundations that support your body — none of that needs to wait for government policy.

You don't have to do this alone. And you don't have to wait.

• What Is PCOS?
• Insulin Resistance And PCOS: What You Need To Know
• How To Support Your Hormonal Health After Coming Off The Pill
• Endometriosis And Inflammation: What The Research Actually Shows
• What Blood Tests Should You Ask For If You Have PCOS?

1. Women's Health Strategy for England. UK Government, July 2022. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/womens-health-strategy-for-england/womens-health-strategy-for-england
2. General Medical Council. MLA Content Map. GMC, 2022. https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/mla-content-map-_pdf-85707770.pdf
3. Endometriosis UK. Endometriosis in the UK: Time for Change. Endometriosis UK, 2020.
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