Women receive worse healthcare in the UK than in Vietnam, Latvia and even ... trends now
Britain's women receive poorer healthcare than those in Vietnam, Latvia and even Kazakhstan, an international study has found.
The UK has dropped from 30th to 37th place in a global league table which ranks how nations perform in five key areas of women's health and wellbeing.
Experts blamed the slide on the UK's failure to make much-needed progress in women's healthcare over the last three years, while other countries had 'leapfrogged' ahead.
The country scored lower than the EU average on areas like cancer screening, emotional health and women's safety in the 2023 Hologic Global Women's Health Index, published today.
There were also declines in how women in the UK rated their pregnancy care, access to healthcare and happiness levels.
The annual survey of nearly 79,000 women from 143 countries and territories found women's health in the UK had not improved on average since 2020, while other nations had advanced.
Poland, for example, scored the same as the UK last year but positive changes meant it jumped ahead to 9th place globally this year.
Tim Simpson, of Hologic UK & Ireland, a medical technology company specialising in women's health, described the findings as 'a call for action and improvement'.
He said: 'Despite significant potential for progress, the UK is being leapfrogged by other countries, which are making more substantial gains in women's health.
'This underscores an urgent need for enhanced focus on topics like preventative measures and pregnancy care, to not only catch up but to set a standard for women's health globally.'
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The poll found women in the UK were less likely than those living in EU countries to have received preventive care in the past year, with fewer receiving screening for high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes and sexually-transmitted infections than the EU average.
Two in five women in the UK reported feeling daily worry and stress, with women more likely to say they felt sadness, stress and anger than those living in EU countries.
Levels of negative emotions, including worry, sadness, stress
