Campaigning
Women's health campaign
Our women’s health campaign aims to highlight the unique challenges faced by disabled women and advocate for better healthcare solutions.
The challenges: Women’s health after spinal cord injury
Women with spinal cord injuries and other long-term conditions (such as multiple sclerosis, spina bifida, and Parkinson’s disease) face significant challenges in accessing the healthcare they need. Despite advancements in medical care and policy commitments to equality, too many women with disabilities continue to be excluded from mainstream health services, left navigating a system that fails to recognize and meet their unique needs.
The healthcare system is not designed with disabled women in mind. From inaccessible GP and hospital facilities to a lack of specialist knowledge among healthcare professionals, women with spinal cord injuries and other conditions often struggle to get the care they require.
Current health policies often fail to include or even acknowledge the specific needs of disabled women. Key gaps include:
- Routine procedures are frequently inaccessible, leaving women at higher risk of undetected health issues. Maternity and reproductive care also remain inadequate, with many women being discouraged from having children or facing serious risks due to a lack of appropriate medical support.
- A lack of integrated care pathways that consider both disability and gender-specific health needs.
- Inconsistent access to essential services, such as physiotherapy, mental health support, and specialist gynaecological care.
- A shortage of trained professionals who understand how to support disabled women in areas such as contraception, pregnancy, menopause, and routine screenings.
- Barriers to early diagnosis and treatment, especially for conditions like osteoporosis, uterine prolapse, and pressure ulcers, which disproportionately impact women with mobility impairments.
Women’s health is a critical aspect of overall well-being, and it becomes even more essential for women with spinal cord injuries (SCI). Here are some key points to consider:
- Limited access to breast screening equipment – One significant issue is the limited access to breast screening equipment. Traditional mammography machines often require women to stand or position themselves in ways that are not feasible for wheelchair users. This limitation can lead to delayed or missed breast cancer screenings, which are crucial for early detection and treatment.
- Inspection platforms in Doctor’s surgeries – Another challenge is the inadequate inspection platforms in many doctor’s surgeries. These platforms are often fixed at a height that makes it difficult for wheelchair users to transfer onto them. This can result in incomplete or less thorough examinations, potentially missing critical health issues.
- Additional challenges and considerations – Beyond these specific issues, women with SCI face a range of other health challenges: Sexual and Reproductive health: Women with SCI often experience sexual dysfunction and may have limited access to sexual health education and resources. This can impact their overall quality of life and relationships. Mental health: The psychological impact of living with SCI can be profound, leading to higher rates of depression and anxiety. Access to mental health support is crucial.
- Advocacy and solutions – We are working to address these issues through advocacy and education. By raising awareness of the unique health needs of women with SCI, we aim to improve access to appropriate healthcare services and equipment. This includes advocating for more accessible breast screening options and adjustable inspection platforms in medical facilities.
Addressing these issues requires more than just small-scale adjustments, it demands systemic change across government
departments, the NHS, and local authorities. Disabled women’s health must be embedded into national health strategies, workforce training, and public health campaigns. Greater collaboration between health, social care, housing, transport, and employment sectors is crucial to ensure that disabled women are not only able to access healthcare but can do so with dignity, choice, and autonomy.
It’s time to break the barriers in women’s health
GET SUPPORT WITH WOMEN’S HEALTH AFTER SPINAL CORD INJURY
Jane’s Rule: Improving the Accessibility of Breast Cancer Screening
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in the UK. About 12,000 women in the UK die from breast cancer every year. Screening saves about one life for every 200 women screened because of its early detection of breast cancer. It is believed that 69% of women diagnosed with cancer in the UK will have at least one other long-term condition.
For women with a spinal cord injury, breast cancer presents specific condition-related implications on their wider health and wellbeing. Breast cancer treatments pose significant risks to shoulder mobility, and can restrict shoulder movement, induce upper limb weakness, and increase pain. Following breast cancer surgery, at 24 months, 42-56% of non-disabled individuals report arm and breast pain. Such shoulder pain is already present in more than 30% of people with a spinal cord injury and amplified following breast cancer surgery.
All attempts are made to try and perform mammography on every eligible client but sometimes because of the lack of upper body strength of the client it is simply not possible to position a woman safely and either mammograms cannot be performed at all or they only image part of the breast and are therefore not of diagnostic quality.
Four years ago I was unable to have my first mammogram due to my limited mobility linked to a spinal injury. Later that year I was diagnosed with breast cancer, had I been able to have a mammogram it would have been picked up earlier (Jane Hudson)
Jane Hudson sustained a spinal cord injury following a cycling accident in 2002. She left an appointment for a mammogram in March 2020 being told no imaging could be taken of her breasts as she was physically unable to position herself correctly. Five months later, her carer found a lump in Jane’s left breast. She was then diagnosed with a Grade 3 tumour. Breast cancer survivors are entitled to breast imaging annually for 5 years. Yet, 4 years on and cancer free Jane was still being prevented from receiving mammograms at her local hospital due to a lack of accessibility. After contacting the Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) about her experience, Jane joined other women with spinal cord injuries, healthcare professionals, and politicians to form SIA’s Women’s Health Taskforce.
Determined to improve the accessibility of breast screening, Jane contacted the Spinal Injuries Association, Dr Roisin Bradley, Director of Breast Screening for North Yorkshire, and a project with Dr Jihong Zhu from the University of York was started. The ‘Mammobot’ project aims to overcome the physical barriers to breast imaging through leveraging recent advances in robotics and artificial intelligence to make mammography machines accessible.
Jane passed away in September 2025. Jane’s experiences highlighted a critical failure in healthcare accessibility for women, particularly in breast cancer screening and diagnosis. Jane was committed to championing the need for improvements to ensure that healthcare is accessible, and it is in her legacy that Jane’s Rule would address the very barriers that she faced.
The use of technology is vital, and we recently visited York University (pictured) to observe a prototype robotic arm in action:
BREAST CANCER SCREENING SOLUTIONS
However, as the technology is developed and implemented Jane’s Rule is proposed to ensure that women with spinal cord injury and other physical disabilities or long-term conditions are not denied from an equal opportunity to have their breast cancer diagnosed early. Targeting outcome parity, rather than a single technical solution, Jane’s Rule would include:
- Mandating that an alternative method of breast imaging is offered to women with physical disabilities or long-term conditions
- Meaningful advanced notification to NHS services of women with physical disabilities and additional considerations
- Improved disability confidence training for healthcare professionals
- Supporting the Mammobot project or other initiatives to accelerate improvements to the accessibility of standard healthcare equipment
Taskforce members
Helen Grant is the Conservative MP for Maidstone and Malling, and has been an MP continually since 6 May 2010.
Helen Morgan is the Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, and has been an MP continually since 16 December 2021.
Gill Furniss is the Labour MP for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, and has been an MP continually since 5 May 2016.
Baroness Hollins. Sheila Clare Hollins is a current member of the House of Lords.
Dani Watts sustained a spinal cord injury in 2017 playing Rugby.
Jane Hudson sustained a spinal cord injury after a cycling accident.
Debbie Green is a specialist nurse working for SIA.
Dharshana Sridhar is the campaigns manager for SIA.
Our Activity
- May 2024 – Initiated campaign task force with parliamentarians, healthcare and legal professionals, and lived experience representatives
- July 2024 – Visit to York University Robotics Lab, joining advisory board and collaborating on technology for wheelchair users
- September 2024 – Meetings with health leads from all political parties on the campaign
- October 2024 – Highlighting health challenges faced by women with SCI at first APPG for Spinal Injuries meeting in new Parliament
- November 2024 – First taskforce meeting chaired by Gill Furness MP [www.spinal.co.uk/news/first-womens-health-taskforce-meeting/]
- January 2025 – Launch of Women’s Health petition
- July 2025 – Chair and Vice-Chair of the All-Party
- October 2025 – Government announcement on including menopause in routine NHS Health Checks
- October 2025 – Written submission to Women and Equalities Select Committee Reproductive Health Conditions for Girls and Young Women Inquiry
- December 2025 – Experiences of menopause after spinal cord injury shared in the i Paper
- February 2026 – Lived experience oral evidence to the Women and Equalities Select Committee Reproductive Health Conditions for Girls and Young Women Inquiry
- March 2026 – Women and Equalities Select Committee Menstrual Health of Girls and Young Women report published with recommendations for disabled women LINK
- April 2026 – Meeting with Department of Health and Social Care Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention
- May 2026 – Government response to Women and Equalities Committee, recognising spinal cord injury can create additional challenges for women and girls and the importance of providing appropriate guidance on managing menstrual health
- May 2026 – Invitation for lived experience members to join Mammobot Project Public Advisory Group
- June 2026 – Frank Williams Academy Women’s Health Spotlight Event
- July 2026 – Attended University of York Robotics Lab Mammobot Project Workshop
Parliamentary Roundtable and launch of campaign (24 February 2025)
The roundtable brings together policymakers, healthcare professionals, and those with lived experience, we have an opportunity to highlight these critical issues, identify gaps in care, and push for meaningful change. Women’s health for women with long term conditions should not be an afterthought – it must be a priority.
This discussion also aligns with International Women’s Day 2025 and its theme, ‘Accelerate Action’. Progress on women’s health, particularly for those with complex conditions, has been too slow for too long. We must go beyond awareness and drive real, tangible improvements in healthcare access and policy. Together, we can ensure that every woman, regardless of her condition, has the support and care she needs to live a full and healthy life.
How you can help
We are calling on MPs, healthcare professionals, charities, and women with lived experience to take action in addressing the
systemic healthcare barriers faced by women with spinal cord injuries and other long-term conditions. Your support is crucial in driving real change. Here’s how you can help:
- Champion policy change – Urge the government to commit to cross-departmental action that ensures accessible, inclusive
healthcare services for disabled women. - Raise awareness in your networks – Use your platform to highlight the inequalities women with disabilities face in
accessing essential screenings, reproductive healthcare, and specialist services. - Engage in Parliamentary action – Support debates, table questions, and work with the APPG for Spinal Injuries to keep this issue high on the political agenda.
- Collaborate for solutions – Join forces with us and other stakeholders to co-design and implement practical solutions
that ensure equitable healthcare access for all women.
Government activity
In the news
Media and PR
If you see anything in the news regarding this campaign please get in touch with our media team. Email: [email protected]