About Medway Women's Health Hub
Medway Women’s Health Hub aims to make it easier for all women to receive care locally for women’s health concerns.
We are building on the services already in place in Medway to improve access, patient experience and health outcomes for local women throughout the course of their lives.
Through staff training, we are increasing awareness of women’s health issues and staff available to provide care.
Our Medway Women’s Health Hub will operate in a physical and virtual space.
The intention is to test and develop new ways of working through supporting training and working with system partners to provide a sustainable solution to improving access to women’s healthcare services.
We are focussing on developing and testing improvements in specific primary care networks (PCNs) initially before extending to other PCNs in Medway.
You can read more about how you can access each of the eight services currently and the work that we are doing to improve care in each of the sections below .
Long Acting Removable Contraceptives (LARC)
Long Acting Removable Contraceptives (LARC) can be used for contraception and other gynaecological purposes.
LARC is either a hormonal coil, a non-hormonal coil, or an implant under the skin.
We recognise that LARC for non-contraceptive purposes can sometimes be difficult to access and so the Medway Women’s Health Hub team is working to make access easier.
We are training more GPs and practice nurses in fitting long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC) and implants and setting up local LARC clinics. This will enable us to offer more appointments.
We are looking at ways to remove the barriers that prevent people accessing LARC for gynaecological purposes by working together with funders, commissioners and providers of services.
Contraception for your lifestyle
We are working with the Integrated Sexual Health Service to make sure people can get the right form of contraception for their lifestyle and to create a network approach so people can get contraception quickly.
The Long Acting Removable Contraception (LARC) service and other forms of contraception are available from either the Integrated Sexual Health Service or via Medway Women’s Health Hub’s General Practices.
Monitoring
The Medway Sexual Health Partnership (a multi-agency team) will be monitoring the effectiveness of our Women’s Health Hub local system approach to contraception services.
About pessaries
Pessaries help women who are experiencing pelvic organ prolapse.
This occurs when one or more of the organs in the pelvis (womb, bladder or bowel) slip down from their normal position and bulge into the vagina.
A pessary helps to support the organs, relieving the discomfort.
You can read more about pelvic organ prolapse on www.nhs.uk
Contact you GP practice in the first instance, if you think you need a pessary.
Training more doctors and nurses
We are working with the Kent and Medway Primary Care Training Hub and Medway NHS Foundation Trust to train more doctors and nurses working in our GP practices in the fitting and removal of pessaries.
We are also in the process of setting up a GP practice-based clinic for women who already have a pessary fitted, so they no longer need to travel to the hospital to have the pessary changed.
For patients who are housebound, we are planning to work with our community trust Medway Community Health, so that the fitting, checking and removal of pessaries can take place at home.
Contact your GP practice for assessment, treatment and support for issues you may be experiencing with the menopause.
Increasing menopause awareness
Through our Medway Women’s Health Hub, we wish to increase the information available to women about the menopause and how to manage symptoms.
App-based support
We are working with colleagues on the possible introduction of an app .
This will give patients access to information about the menopause, a place to record their symptoms and help to manage their symptoms.
Breaking down barriers
We know that there are some women in Medway, who experience more barriers to reaching out for support and so we are working with our community voluntary action group - Medway Voluntary Action (MVA) - to find out what’s needed, to make sure that people know about the support available and how to access it.
Menopause group sessions
We are working with our colleagues in public health to offer menopause group sessions to support their journey through the menopause.
These will be both online and in-person sessions, in groups of 10 women. More details will be published here when available.
Cervical screening, which was once called a smear test, is used to check the health of the cervix and help prevent cervical cancer.
The NHS invites all women and people with a cervix between the ages of 25 and 64 for regular cervical screening.
How often you are invited depends on your age. You'll get a letter in the post inviting you to make an appointment at your GP practice.
You can read more about cervical screening on www.nhs.uk
Medway Women’s Health hub is looking at how we can make access to screening as simple as possible.
We are looking at the possibility of making cervical screening appointments available through all contraceptive, gynaecological and sexual health services.
If you are having menstrual problems including but not limited to heavy, painful or irregular menstrual bleeding, contact your GP practice to make an appointment.
The Medway Women’s Health Hub team is reviewing where women might go for assessment and treatment of menstrual problems in the future.
We are looking to see if instead of going to the hospital for diagnosis of conditions such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome, consultant-led clinics could be held in the community.
Our Medway Women’s Health Hub Team will be working with both clinicians and patients to explore how this could work.
This work will include supporting GPs and other healthcare professionals with training to recognise symptoms and manage the specific conditions.
If you are thinking of having a baby, information is available on Kent and Medway’s Bump, Birth and Beyond website.
Through our women’s health hub work in Medway, we are increasing awareness among clinical teams, so that they can consistently advise women on pre-conception care and the support available in Kent and Medway, particularly when coming off long-term contraception because they want to have a baby.
We are working with colleagues at Medway NHS Foundation Trust to review referral pathways and identify any training needs in general practice, so women can receive more care at their GP practice rather than patients being referred by the GP to the hospital.
About breast pain
Breast pain is usually linked to periods. Sometimes it can be caused by a health condition or medicine.
You can find out more about breast pain on www.nhs.uk
If you are experiencing breast pain, make an appointment with your GP.
Breastfeeding?
If you’ve recently had baby and you are breastfeeding, the Beside You - Medway website has information about breast pain and where to go for support.
Breast pain and cancer
Breast pain by itself is unlikely to be a symptom of cancer.
Anyone can get breast cancer, not just women.
You should check your breasts or chest regularly (once a month).
For more information on how to do this visit the 'How to check your breasts or chest' page on www.nhs.uk
Breast screening
Anyone registered with a GP as female will be invited for NHS breast screening every three years between the ages of 50 and 71. You'll get a letter in the post inviting you.
To find out more visit the 'Breast screening mammogram' page on www.nhs.uk
Concerned?
If you have a concern about your breasts, if you feel something isn’t right, or isn’t normal for you, contact your GP.
STI and HIV screening is available as self-sampling kits through the Integrated Sexual Health Service via Clover Street, Medway’s Sexual Health Hub.
Medway Women’s Health Hub team is working with the Integrated Sexual Health Service to increase the availability of self-sampling kits (swabs) to promote regular testing and reduce the onward transmission of STIs and HIV.
Probation Service pilot
Through our Medway Women’s Health Hub work we are also running a pilot project working the Probation Service to support women they are working with to access health screening.
