Grant fund launched to support women’s reproductive wellbeing in the workplace

• Purposes open for funding grants of among £200,000 and £600,000 for the voluntary, group and social company (VCSE) sector who specialise in women’s wellbeing products and services
• The funding will ensure women enduring reproductive concerns – this kind of as the menopause or pregnancy decline – are better supported to continue to be in or return to the place of work all over their occupations
• This reaffirms government’s dedication to degree up women’s health and deal with disparities by supporting persons in operate and helping the NHS use its history funding to clear the Covid backlog

Gals suffering from the menopause, fertility difficulties, miscarriage and pregnancy reduction, menstrual overall health and gynaecological problems in the office will be supported to remain in or return to the place of work by a multi-million pound funding improve to voluntary, community and social organization (VCSE) organisations.

This federal government is fully commited to levelling up health and fitness disparities and to recognise the have to have to superior assistance women’s well being in the office, grants of in between £200,000 to £600,000 for each applicant will be obtainable around the subsequent 3 years to extend and build projects or programmes in these spots.

The funding will assist assignments and programmes doing the job with communities to deliver instruction for smaller and medium enterprises (SMEs) exactly where inner help in the place of work is unlikely to be obtainable and supporting individuals by signposting to clinical providers, and encouraging them to address personal and office obstacles to increase their wellbeing.
There are sturdy back links in between health and fitness and employment, with proof exhibiting do the job is good for actual physical and psychological wellbeing. Better life expectancy is strongly correlated with increased work prices and the most deprived nearby regions encounter the worst well being and employment outcomes.

Relocating from work to unemployment is approximated to boost GP session rates for an personal by 50 for every cent because of to its impact on people’s wellness. Supporting persons in work not only helps them as people but also lowers the stress on the NHS and allows healthcare specialists to go on using document funding to clear the Covid backlog.

Overall health and Social Treatment Secretary Sajid Javid reported:

Tens of millions of women operate throughout the country and all companies should have programs to guarantee the right assistance is in place for women enduring reproductive troubles and the menopause

I’m dedicated to levelling up women’s health and lowering disparities, not only through today’s funding, but much more extensively through our ground-breaking Women’s Wellbeing Technique, urgently tackling HRT offer concerns and my intention to signal the Menopause Workforce Pledge to aid civil servants suffering from the menopause at do the job.

Minister for Women’s Health Maria Caulfield said:

Women’s wellness shouldn’t effect their work alternatives.

This grant funding will ensure the voluntary, community and social business sector is capable to much better assistance gals who are going through reproductive overall health concerns to continue to be in or return to the place of work.

We’re levelling up women’s wellness by means of this fund together with our pledge to assist gals dealing with the menopause in the civil services, tackling present HRT offer difficulties and our approaching Women’s Overall health Tactic.

Developing on the government’s ambitions in the Women’s Overall health Vision to assistance women in the office to get to their total likely, the grant fund aims to make certain:

• gals sense supported in the workplace
• taboos are damaged down as a result of open up conversation
• businesses sense very well equipped to assist females in taking care of their well being inside of the office.

The VCSE sector presents skilled get the job done and wellbeing support to ladies enduring reproductive health and fitness problems impacting their practical experience in the place of work. This is specially very important for women of all ages who are much less possible to have obtain to expert perform and well being support, these types of as occupational wellness aid, by using their employer, which might involve gals doing work for compact employers or who are self-employed. As a outcome, applications for programmes aiming to give education and awareness for modest and medium enterprises (SMEs) exactly where support techniques are not likely to be out there are specially inspired.

The governing administration will publish the Women’s Wellness System later on this 12 months and will also appoint a Women’s Well being Ambassador to generate women’s health and fitness to the top rated of the agenda. These methods will necessarily mean greater health care previously and lessen the force on the NHS as operate proceeds to apparent the Covid backlog.

Prof Geeta Nargund, co-founder of the Ginsburg Women’s Wellness Board, senior NHS specialist and clinical director at Produce Fertility, explained:

The government’s grant funding for office aid of women’s reproductive overall health is a pretty welcome step. It is critical that ladies have access to the help and security they need to have with their reproductive health in their locations of do the job if we are to tackle the gender health gap – via this grant, the Governing administration will be equipped to aid companies in obtaining this.

Though the grant is presently targeted on the VCSE sector, my hope is that it could prove a beneficial blueprint for expanding place of work reproductive guidance to all sectors.

The government continues to get the job done collaboratively and transparently with business to make sure gals can accessibility HRT now and in the lengthy-phrase. The Wellness and Social Treatment Secretary, Minister for Women’s Health and the recently appointed Head of the HRT Offer Taskforce Madelaine McTernan achieved with suppliers and companies at a roundtable final 7 days to talk about methods. This is in addition to the authorities issuing Major Lack Protocols (SSPs) to restrict the dispensing of three HRT items to 3 months’ provide.

Qualifications information

• The software portal for the VCSE grant fund will open up on Friday 13 May well and close on Friday 5 August.
• The intention of the Overall health and Wellbeing Fund is to market equalities and lower health inequalities by creating the evidence base about excellent exercise, sharing classes, and widening the adoption of interventions with a confirmed keep track of record. The Health and fitness and Wellbeing Fund focuses on a person precise theme every single year, which is agreed across the program companions and in co-output with the VCSE sector.
• The Women’s Overall health Vision was published 23 December 2021