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When the Women’s Health Strategy for England was published in 2022, it put a spotlight on a long-standing issue: how healthcare services are failing 51% of our population – women. Women continue to live a greater proportion of their lives in ill health than men, remain chronically underrepresented in clinical research, and often struggle to access the right information and support at key moments in their lives, from adolescence and menstruation, to pregnancy, menopause and later years.

Despite every woman’s health journey being unique, many face the same challenges: misrepresentation, stigma, and barriers to accessing services that could dramatically improve their quality of life.

At Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber, we are committed to addressing these barriers. After listening closely to women’s health leads across the region, one message came through loud and clear: we must listen to women more deeply and more meaningfully when designing services.

To explore this further, we brought together local leaders, innovators, and women with lived experience for a dedicated event on how innovation and genuine engagement can transform women’s health.

Listening, learning and leading together

Our Empowering Women’s Health event, held at Shine in Harehills, Leeds, sparked a vibrant conversation among women entrepreneurs, clinicians, commissioners, and digital health innovators.

We began with insights from Graham Prestwich, Health Innovation Yorkshire and Humber Patient and Public Engagement Lead, who introduced our PPIE (patient, public involvement and engagement) framework designed to encourage stronger and more effective collaborative working between all stakeholders involved in developing innovation adoption action plans. The framework – ‘A Framework for Driving Innovation Adoption Through Patient Insight’ – provides practical steps for embedding patient insight into innovation and accelerating adoption. Its core principle is simple but powerful: align what matters to patients with the actions stakeholders can take at each stage of the care journey.

We also heard from Jo Baker (West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board Director of Strategy and Transformation) and Liz Ward (Service Lead for Population Health Management and Women’s Health Hubs at Burmantofts, Harehills & Richmond Primary Care Network), who shared their approach to engaging patients in maternity and postnatal service development. They shared how women are often grateful for the care and support received during labour and immediately after birth, and can therefore be less likely to share constructive feedback on how to improve services, so we need to dig a little deeper when engaging with women in these circumstances.

Innovation in action

The second half of the event spotlighted innovators tackling some of the most pressing challenges in women’s health:

• Helen Morris, Roche Diagnostics – exploring faster, more accurate diagnosis of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
• Jim Gabriel, CardMedic – presenting digital tools that offer instant translation in thousands of clinical scenarios
• Diana Hill, Essential Parent – showcasing a trusted digital resource to help women understand conditions and navigate local services

Their work demonstrates the potential of innovation not only to close gaps in care, but also to empower women with the information they need, when they need it.

What we heard

Several themes emerged strongly throughout the day:

1. Stigma still holds women back

Embarrassment about symptoms—such as unwanted facial hair or weight gain associated with PCOS—can deter women from seeking help. This is more than a personal challenge; it’s a systemic barrier to timely diagnosis and support.

2. Honest feedback requires intentional space

Women often focus on their baby’s wellbeing after birth, meaning their own needs are overlooked—including during routine postnatal checks. Without careful, sensitive engagement, valuable insights risk being missed.

3. Patient voices drive better services

When women’s insights are truly heard, the impact is transformative. Clinicians feel more confident designing the services women actually want, and women feel respected, understood, and included—even when not every suggestion can be implemented.

4. Innovation can remove practical barriers

Challenges such as the availability of translators, especially during labour, were raised repeatedly. But solutions exist: clinically validated translation apps can provide immediate support, improving communication around the clock.

What’s next?

Our event supported connections across healthcare services – something we hope to continue to support across our region. We also want to unlock the opportunities for innovation, with our next event focused on showcasing more Women’s Health solutions – this time focused on pelvic health.

Join us for our free online Women’s Health Innovation Showcase on 04 December from 11:00 to 13:00

Register now