Women are still the primary care givers and their social support is crucial to the well-being of the population as a whole, the Chair of the Women¿s Health Council (WHC), Professor Cecily Kelleher, said in a preface to a report launched today.
The WHC's report, launched by the Minister for Health and Children, Mr. Micheal Martin, is widely critical of the lack of success achieved by the current policy document relating to women's health -
the Department of Health and Children's Plan for Women's Health 1997-1999
- saying that "in practice, the aspirational nature of the Plan rendered it more of a statement of strategic intent than a practical plan per se".
The report also recommends an amended structure to ensure more explicit links at national and regional levels in order to build on the Plan's achievements and to strengthen women's health policy development in the future.
Minister Martin welcomed the report and saying: "I would support the view that women's health policy must be linked explicitly with other health strategies. In this way a health service responsive to the needs of women can be developed."
The main recommendations of the report were:
- The speedy implementation from pilot to full service phases of the Breast and Cervical Screening Programmes with appropriate follow up services in place.
- To supports initiatives that address disadvantage by reducing social inequality, promoting support for improvement in lifestyle and health practices and providing equitable access to healthcare.
