In the latest President Blog, Ranee Thakar discusses the College’s work to champion our members and advocate for the health of women and girls, through vital policy and influencing work, as well as looking ahead to the exciting RCOG 2025 World Congress, taking place in London, later this month.
Welcome to my June membership message. This month, I would like to reflect on the work we’ve been doing at the College to advocate for the health of women and girls. Advocacy is central to our College's mission – it’s how we influence policy, challenge injustice and champion the needs of our members with governments, policy makers and senior health leaders.
I am delighted to share that our upcoming RCOG World Congress (23-25 June 2025 in London), will feature a session on the Women’s Health Strategy with Dame Lesley Regan (UK Women's Health Ambassador) and Sue Mann (National Clinical Director for Women's Health). The session will explore the progress made on the strategy and where attention remains urgently needed, including addressing the gynaecology waiting list crisis and implementing women’s health hubs. Of course, it is not just the UK where gynaecological conditions are under-prioritised. Globally gynaecological care continues to be under prioritised. That is why I am very proud of the College’s recent global policy position statement on this important area, which you can read here.
This year, the theme of our flagship World Congress is ‘Equity in care, innovation in action’, and will feature an inspiring programme of speakers, workshops and sessions, cutting-edge research and impactful sessions. Topics range from AI and digital health, to lifestyle medicine, sustainability and climate change. Jane Plumb, RCOG Women’s Network Chair, is leading an important session on communication, consent and clinical excellence, with Dr Mariya Kalgo and the Network’s co-Vice Chairs, Emma Crookes and Freya El Baz, bringing together lived experiences and clinical perspectives.
The College remains steadfast in its call to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales. Outdated abortion laws needlessly subjects women to criminal charges and custodial sentences for ending their own pregnancy. This work has never been more critical, given the alarming increase in investigations and prosecutions. You can read our most recent statement here.
Earlier this year, we joined with over 40 organisations, including Royal Colleges, abortion providers and women's rights organisations, calling for urgent action from Parliament to protect women’s essential reproductive rights. This month, we welcomed the amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill laid in the name of Tonia Antoniazzi MP, to remove women from the criminal law related to abortion. Around 123 MPs from eight political parties have already supported this amendment, and we are continuing our efforts to encourage more MPs to add their names.
Another key area of our current policy work is around the UK government NHS 10-Year Health Plan, expected to publish in the next two months. We have continued to engage with government and NHS England colleagues throughout the development process to share the views and needs of women and people with lived experience, our members, and professionals working across women’s health. In our manifesto for the 10-Year Health Plan we called for focused actions on prioritising women’s health, workforce and estates, women’s health hubs, gynaecology waiting times, maternity care and prevention. Just last month, the College also published the key questions the 10 Year Health Plan must address to ensure it delivers for women.
In the UK, we are entering a critical period of change, with the NHS returning to direct government control during an already challenging time, with high demand for services, funding constraints, and a need to transform care delivery. Worryingly, members will have already seen the requirement for Integrated Care Systems to cut their budgets by 50%, as well as national ring-fenced budgets for maternity improvement works being slashed this financial year. The College continues to use all avenues and forums to make a clear case for investment in the maternity workforce and services. That is why we will be co-hosting a maternity and neonatal summit in July with the Royal College of Midwives, bringing together NHS leaders in Trusts, Boards, and Integrated Care Boards to share scalable, sustainable solutions that support better outcomes for women and families.
Amidst the challenges, we recently celebrated the Department of Health and Social Care announcement that the Avoiding Brain Injury in Childbirth programme will be rolled out nationally from September. Developed with the RCOG, RCM and THIS Institute, this programme addresses key risks during labour
associated with two key contributors to preventable brain injury during labour: managing impacted fetal head at caesarean birth and recognising and responding to the baby who may be deteriorating during labour. We are extremely proud to have been part of this fantastic collaboration to develop an innovative improvement programme. You can read more here.
The College was also pleased to launch joint guidance with Maternity Action on applying NHS charging in maternity care, which you can find here. While charging regulations remain in place, NHS Trusts and obstetricians have an essential role in minimising their impact, and the new guidance aims to help obstetricians understand how they can best support women who are liable to be charged for NHS maternity care. We were pleased to hear news that the Department of Health and Social Care has announced over £100 million in funding to improve NHS maternity units. The College has long called for investment to modernise NHS maternity services, from estates to digital infrastructure.
My fellow Officers and I, alongside College staff, meet regularly with parliamentarians, civil servants and policy makers, NHS leaders and partner organisations to promote the College’s aims and ambitions and to advocate on behalf of you all. Although it can sometimes feel like progress is too slow, I am regularly heartened by meeting with MPs who have an interest in women’s health, all of whom are keen to discuss their own experiences and those of their constituents, and are engaged with their local health services. These meetings are an invaluable opportunity to highlight both the excellent care our members provide, but also the immense pressure the O&G workforce is experiencing.
Thank you to everyone who completed the 2025 workforce census, which was open to all obstetricians and gynaecologists working in the UK. The findings from the census will be invaluable to inform our policy and advocacy work as well as our workforce planning and guidance, to support the O&G workforce.
The passion for our speciality is evident in your responses, but further underlines that the workforce is under-resourced, with many working beyond contracted hours and feeling undervalued. Two thirds of respondents report rota gaps, or insufficient time for leadership and educator responsibilities. The responses support the RCOG’s Surgical Skills Project initial findings regarding the lack of time within rotas to complete training, and having reduced training opportunities in theatre.
Supporting our members has never been more important. As your professional home, the RCOG will continue to adapt and innovate to provide the support you need throughout your careers and campaign hard on your behalf. A full report on the census findings and recommendations will be published on the RCOG website in the autumn.
In March, RCOG reached an important milestone by attending the 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) in New York. This was a proud moment for our Global Health Team and the wider College. Dr Michaelina Drejza, who attended the delegation as Chair of the Global Health Trainee committee, has written a blog reflecting on the event here.
June marks the start of Pride month, the biggest annual celebration in the LGBTQ+ calendar. Equality, diversity and inclusion are integral to everything that we do as a College. We will be sharing information across our channels throughout Pride month, and a dedicated LGBTQ+ stream will be available on the first day of Congress, featuring sessions on ‘Trans men’s experience of maternity care’, ‘Self-sampling for cervical screening in the LGBTQ+ community’, and ‘Queer menopause’. You can see the full programme here.
Finally, don’t forget that the election of the next RCOG President is under way, with the results being announced on Friday 20 June. Our presidential candidates came together for a Q&A event at the College in advance of the election ballot opening, and you can watch the recording here, alongside full candidate profiles. You can find detailed information on the election process here.
Leading the RCOG as your President is an enormous privilege. Thank you for all you do support our College and improve the health of women and girls around the world. I’m looking forward to another brilliant Congress in three weeks, and meeting as many of you there as possible!
With very best wishes,
Ranee