Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of women’s health hubs.

The Department has commissioned research and undertaken analysis to assess the effectiveness of women’s health hubs.

The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In 2023, a rapid mixed methods evaluation was undertaken by the NIHR’s Birmingham RAND and Cambridge Evaluation Rapid Evaluation Centre to explore the current state and experiences of delivering and using women’s health hubs. It identified 17 women’s health hubs in England which were established between 2001 and 2022. The final report was published in September 2024, and is available at the following link:

https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/hsdr/JYFT5036#/abstract

The Department has published a cost benefit analysis, which estimated that for every £1 spent on implementing a primary care network-sized hub, there are estimated to be £5 of benefits. The cost benefit analysis is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/womens-health-hubs-information-and-guidance/womens-health-hubs-cost-benefit-analysis

The Department and NHS England are also committed to learning from the ongoing two-year women’s health hubs pilot programme, in 2023/24 and 2024/25. For example, the NIHR has commissioned two projects through the Policy Research Unit in Reproductive Health and the Policy Innovation Unit, which will explore mechanisms for commissioning women’s reproductive health services in England and what influences choice of, access to, and satisfaction with these services, including women’s health hubs.