Women's health plan 2021 to 2024: data landscape review

2. Overview of data sources

2.1 General health

Life expectancy

National Records of Scotland^[2]

National Records of Scotland (NRS) release data on life expectancy in Scotland every year, based on data from the previous three years for various geographical areas in Scotland. The most recent publication covers the period 2021-2023.

• Life expectancy in 2021-2023 was 80.9 years for females and 76.9 years for males.
• It has increased by almost 7 weeks for females and 14 weeks for males since 2020-2022 although it is still lower than before the pandemic.

Source: National Records of Scotland 2024

Healthy life expectancy

National Records of Scotland^[3]

NRS also produce data on healthy life expectancy in Scotland on an annual basis. Healthy life expectancy is the average number of years of life that people spend in good health^{[4], [5]}. The most recent publication covers the period 2019-2021.

• In 2019-2021 healthy life expectancy at birth for females was 61.1 years and 60.4 years for males. This means that females are spending more years in poorer health than males on average, given that life expectancy for females is higher.
• This has decreased in previous years, from 63 years in 2014-16 for females and 62 for males.

Source: National Records of Scotland 2022

Self-assessed general health

Scottish Health Survey^[6]

The Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) provides data annually on the health of adults (16+) and children (0-15) living in private households in Scotland. The latest published report covers data collected in 2022. In 2022, 4,394 adults and 1,764 children took part in the survey.

SHeS reports on the self-assessed general health of adults and children. Respondents were asked to assess whether their health was very good, good, fair, bad or very bad.

• There were similar patterns of self-assessed general health between women and men aged 16 and over in 2022 – 69% of adult women described their health as ‘very good’ or ‘good’ compared with 71% of adult men.
• However, the difference was more pronounced among younger age groups. The proportion of women aged 16-24 who described their health as ‘very good’ was 30% compared with 47% of men aged 16-24.
• Across all ages, women (42%) were more likely than men (32%) to report a limiting long-term health condition.

Mental Health

Scottish Health Survey^[7]

SHeS reports on trends in mental wellbeing for adults using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS)^[8], the General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12)^[9] and CIS-R anxiety and depression scores^[10].

• GHQ-12 scores of 4 or more (indicative of a possible psychiatric disorder) were substantially higher for women (31%) than for men (22%) in 2022. These proportions have increased for both sexes since 2019, however women have seen a higher increase than men – an increase of 12 percentage points for women compared with 7 percentage points for men.
• Levels of mental wellbeing tend to increase as women age. Higher WEMWBS scores indicate greater wellbeing. In 2022, women aged 16-24 had a mean WEMWBS score of 44.3, compared with 49.7 for those aged 65-74.
• In 2021/2022 combined, anxiety was highest for young women aged 16-24. A third (33%) of this group reported two or more symptoms of anxiety compared with 13% of their male counterparts.
• In 2021/2022 combined, 13% of women experienced 2 or more symptoms of depression. The proportion of women experiencing 2 or more symptoms of depression was highest for women aged 25-34 (16%), women with lower incomes (16% of those in the bottom income quintile) and women with a limiting long-term condition (23%).

Scotland’s Census^[11]

Scotland’s Census is the official count of every person and household in the country. There has been a census in Scotland every 10 years since 1901, except 1941. The 2021 census in Scotland was moved to 2022 due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Census provides data on health, disability and unpaid care across the population.

• A higher percentage of females (13%) reported a mental health condition than males (9%) in 2022 which was a similar pattern to 2011.
• The biggest difference was amongst 16-24 year olds where the percentage of females (20%) reporting a mental health condition was nearly twice as high as males (11%).

Mental Health Inpatient Census^[12]

The Mental Health Inpatient Census is carried out by the Scottish Government and all NHS Boards annually. It covers patients occupying mental health, addiction and learning disability beds who are funded by NHS Scotland at a point in time, together with patients receiving Hospital Based Complex Clinical Care (HBCCC). The most recent publication covers data collected on the 11 April 2022. At the 2022 Census there were 2,876 mental health, addiction and learning disability inpatients in NHS Scotland.

• In 2022 around two fifths (41%) of all mental health inpatients were female.
• There were 46 inpatients aged under 18. Of those, 87% (40) were female.
• Of all adults self-harming in the week prior to admission, 44% were male and 56% were female. However, given only 41% of adult patients in the Census are female, this suggests females are at a higher risk of self-harm compared with males.
• Females were more likely to express suicidal ideation on admission (58%) than males.

2.2 Reproductive health

Contraception

Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) Key Clinical Indicator (KCI)^[13]

This annual release by PHS reports on the prescribing of long-acting reversible methods of contraception (LARC) in primary care and sexual health settings in Scotland. This includes the contraceptive implant, intrauterine device (IUD) and intrauterine system (IUS) but not other reversible methods such as the contraceptive pill or condoms. The most recent publication is for the year ending 31 March 2024.

• The overall LARC prescribing rate decreased from 51.8 to 48.4 per 1,000 women between 2022/23 and 2023/24. This is lower than rates before the Covid-19 pandemic, 54.3 in 2019/20.
• The IUS (commonly known as the hormonal coil) replaced the contraceptive implant as the most common type of LARC prescribed.
• There is variation in LARC prescribing rates across age groups with the highest uptake in the 45+ and 25-29 age categories (a prescribing rate of 49.2 and 44.2 per 1,000 women in that age group respectively). However, in 17% of prescriptions no age data is recorded which may mean that variation by age is more or less than it appears to be.
• Since 2013/14, prescribing rates for LARC methods were higher in primary care settings compared to sexual health settings, however this has changed since the Covid-19 pandemic and in 2023/24 prescribing rates were higher amongst sexual health settings compared to primary care (25.5 and 22.9 per 1,000 women respectively).

Dispenser payments and prescription cost analysis^[14]

This annual release by PHS reports on the number and cost of NHS prescriptions dispensed in the community in Scotland. The report includes the number of contraception and emergency contraception prescriptions dispensed. It should be noted that these data only cover prescriptions dispensed in community pharmacies and not those prescribed in other settings such as sexual health clinics. It should also be noted that these data are not published with the intention of monitoring population health. The most recent publication is for the year ending 31 March 2023.

• Levels of combined hormonal contraceptives being dispensed in community pharmacies decreased by 23% between 2019/20 and 2022/23.
• Since 2019/20, levels of progestogen-only contraceptives have remained stable whilst levels of emergency contraception being dispensed in community pharmacies have slightly reduced (by 2.48%).

Teenage pregnancy

Teenage Pregnancy Statistics^[15]

This annual release by PHS provides an update on teenage pregnancy statistics in Scotland which are based on age at conception and presented by year of conception. The most recent publication is for the calendar year ending 31 December 2022.

• In 2022 the teenage pregnancy rate in Scotland rose for the first time in over a decade, increasing from 23.3 per 1,000 women in 2021 to 27.1. This increase was mostly driven by pregnancies in those aged between 17 and 19 years.
• However, the national teenage pregnancy rate in 2022 is lower than the rate observed in 2019 (27.7).
• Teenage pregnancy rates increased across all levels of deprivation in 2022 but increases were greater in less deprived areas (SIMD 2 to 5) than the most deprived (SIMD 1)^[16].
• Teenage pregnancy rates were still more than three times higher for those living in the most deprived areas compared with the least deprived areas in 2022.
• There is considerable variation in teenage pregnancy rates across local authorities. The highest rate is 45.4 per 1,000 women in Dundee City and the lowest is 11.2 in East Dunbartonshire.

Termination of pregnancies

Termination of Pregnancies Statistics^[17]

This annual release by PHS provides an update on termination of pregnancies. Data are derived from the Termination of Pregnancy Submissions Scotland (ToPSS) system. Numbers and rates of termination are provided on a variety of characteristics such as previous termination, statutory ground, gestation and method of termination. The most recent publication is for the calendar year ending 31 December 2023.

• The termination rate was 17.6 per 1,000 women in 2023. This is a steep increase since 2021 when the rate was 13.5 per 1,000 women. This represents a 30% increase in service demand since 2021 and a 10% increase since 2022.
• Increases were observed across all age groups and in all NHS board areas since 2022.
• Termination rates have generally been trending upwards across all deprivation areas, although the rate of increase was greater in the most deprived areas, and as a result inequalities have widened. Termination rates for women living in the most deprived areas of Scotland (SIMD 1) were double that of those living in the least deprived areas (SIMD 5).
• Earlier gestation terminations (under nine weeks) were less likely when women were from more deprived areas and rural/remote areas.

Maternity care

Births in Scottish Hospitals^[18]

This annual release by PHS reports on pregnancy, childbirth and the early care of babies born in Scotland. The most recent publication is for the year ending 31 March 2023.

• There were 44,557 maternities (a pregnancy ending in a live or stillbirth) in Scotland in 2022/23. The upward trend in maternal age continued with women aged 35 years and older accounting for around a quarter of all maternities.
• Around two fifths (39%) of live singleton babies were born by caesarean in 2022/23, the highest proportion since reporting began and a steep increase since 2013/14 (29%).
• Rates of maternal obesity and diabetes are increasing with over a quarter (28%) and nearly a tenth (9%) of maternities now affected by obesity and diabetes respectively.
• Preterm birth rates have been increasing since 2010/11 for both singleton and multiple deliveries.
• Pregnant women are more likely to live in the most deprived areas compared with the general population. Deprivation impacts the health of pregnant women and babies across Scotland with women from more deprived areas being more likely to be overweight or obese, have diabetes, to give birth prematurely and to babies small for their gestation compared with those from less deprived areas.

Maternity Care Survey^[19]

The Maternity Care Survey was run by the Scottish Government, with support from NRS. It asked women about their most recent NHS maternity care experience and covered the maternity care journey from antenatal care through to care at home after the birth. The latest published report covers data collected in 2018. This was the third iteration of the survey with the first run in 2013 and the second in 2015. This means that publications only represent pre-pandemic results.

Findings from 2018 included that:

• Nine in ten women (90%) rated their antenatal care positively.
• Over three fifths (63%) of women saw the same midwife for all or most of their antenatal check-ups.
• Just over nine in ten women (91%) rated the care they received during their labour and birth positively.
• Over four in five women (81%) felt any concerns they raised during the birth were taken seriously.
• Just over eight in ten women (82%) rated their postnatal hospital care positively.

Menopause

Dispenser payments and prescription cost analysis^[20]

PHS publish a report annually on the number and cost of NHS prescriptions dispensed in the community in Scotland. The most recent publication is for the year ending 31 March 2023. The report covers the dispensing rate of “female sex hormones and their modulators” which includes Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) to treat the symptoms of menopause. However, it should be noted that whilst these data may include HRT it cannot be said whether this trend represents the dispensing rate of HRT for treating menopause symptoms alone.

• The dispensing rates of female sex hormones and their modulators saw a sharp increase between 2020/21 and 2022/23. There were 827,298 female sex hormones and their modulators dispensed in community pharmacies in the financial period 2022/23. This has more than doubled since 2020/21.

2.3 Health conditions

Endometriosis

Endometriosis UK – Analysis of Endometriosis Service Provision in Scotland^[21]

Endometriosis UK conducted research on behalf of the Scottish Government to understand the provision of, and barriers to, care for endometriosis in Scotland. Although not routinely published by PHS, the report includes PHS data on admissions and waiting times for patients in Scotland. The data covers the period of 2015/16 to 2019/20 and shows:

• During this time period, 24-34 year olds were the most common age group amongst endometriosis patients in Scotland.
• The number of patients waiting over 12 weeks for a laparoscopy^[22] rose dramatically between March and June 2020, by more than threefold, in line with Covid-19 pressures on the NHS. Note that these data refer to all patients waiting for inpatient/day case admission for laparoscopy, not just those to diagnose/treat endometriosis.

Coronary heart disease

The Scottish Burden of Disease study^[23]

The Scottish Burden of Disease (SBoD) study is a national, and local, population health surveillance system which monitors how diseases, injuries and risk factors prevent the Scottish population from living longer lives in better health. It is updated on an ad-hoc basis and currently provides data from 2014-2019 which disaggregates by sex, age and geography.

• In 2019, ischaemic heart disease (IHD) (another term for coronary heart disease (CHD)) was the second leading cause of death and years of healthy life lost for women, accounting for 48,091 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)^[24].

Scottish Heart Disease Statistics^[25]

This annual release by PHS provides an update on heart disease in Scotland. The most recent publication is for the year ending 31 March 2023.

• In 2022/23 the age-sex standardised incidence rate of CHD was 219.7 of new cases per 100,000 population for females compared with 469.1 new cases per 100,000 population for males.
• Males have a higher 30-day survival rate post first emergency admission than females (94% compared with 91.1%). This gender gap has narrowed from 3.4 percentage points to 2.9 percentage points between 2013/14 and 2022/23.

Scottish Health Survey^[26]

SHeS reports on trends in CHD/IHD on an annual basis and provides breakdowns by sex, age, income, area deprivation and long-term illness.

• In 2022, 4% of adult women and 6% of adult men reported doctor-diagnosed CHD/IHD in Scotland.
• The proportion of women reporting doctor-diagnosed CHD/IHD increased with age, ranging from 0-1% of women aged 16-44, 3-8% of women aged 45-74 and rising to 11% of women aged 75+.
• The proportion of women reporting doctor-diagnosed CHD/IHD increased as deprivation increased, with 7% of women in the most deprived areas (SIMD 1) having doctor-diagnosed CHD/IHD compared with 2% in the least deprived areas (SIMD 5) in 2022.

Alzheimer’s disease and dementia

The Scottish Burden of Disease study^[27]

• In 2019, Alzheimer’s disease and dementias were the leading cause of death and years of healthy life lost for women, accounting for 57,117 DALYs. This is considerably higher than the burden of disease for men, who accounted for 34,241 DALYs.

Chronic pain

Scottish Health Survey^[28]

SHeS reports on the prevalence and impact on the lives of individuals (both adults and children) living with chronic pain in Scotland, as well as access to support. These data were collected and published for the first time in the 2022 report. Figures are reported by age, sex and area deprivation.

• A higher proportion of women (43%) reported being in chronic pain (defined as being currently troubled by pain or discomfort lasting three months or more) compared with men (33%) in 2022.
• The gap between sexes was most stark amongst those age 16-24. Over a quarter (27%) of women in this age group were experiencing chronic pain compared with 9% of men.

Breast cancer

Cancer incidence in Scotland^[29]

This annual release by PHS provides an update of cancer incidence statistics in Scotland from January 1997 to December 2021. The Scottish Cancer Registry collects information on every cancer in Scotland and uses data to inform cancer control.

• Breast cancer was the second most common cancer overall (5,180 diagnoses) and the most common cancer in females (5,143 diagnoses) in Scotland in 2021.
• The number of breast cancer diagnoses in females increased by 6.2% (298) in 2021 compared with 2019.
• In the decade to 2019, number of breast cancer diagnoses increased but rates, or risks, remained similar.
• There were 174 breast cancers diagnosed per 100,000 females in 2021, an increase of 4.5% compared with 2019.

Scottish breast screening programme statistics^[30]

This annual release by PHS provides an update on breast screening statistics. It includes Scottish Breast Screening Programme (SBSP) performance standards, attendance figures, cancer detection rates, biopsy results and screening outcomes. The most recent publication is for the year ending 31 March 2023. Since women are invited to attend breast screening only once every three years, trends in national performance are mostly examined in three-year periods.

• More than 3 in 4 women took up their screening invitations (75.9%) for the three year period 2020/23. This is an increase on the previous three-year period when uptake was 74.5% and pre-pandemic (2017/20) when uptake was 72.2%.
• Women from more deprived areas were less likely to attend breast screening. Only six in ten women (64.2%) from the most deprived areas (SIMD 1) went for screening compared with eight in ten (82.8%) from the least deprived areas (SIMD 5).
• In the 2020/23 period, the invasive cancer detection rate^[31] for women aged 53-70 who had been screened within five years of their last attendance was 7.3 per 1,000 women screened. This is the highest invasive cancer detection rate seen over the past ten reporting periods. This may be a result of the pause to screening due to the pandemic leading to a backlog of screens.

Cervical cancer

Cancer in Scotland^[32]

• Overall, the risk of cervical cancer has remained fairly similar over the past decade, however, there has been a reduction in risk in the 25-29 year age group, possibly due to younger females receiving the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination.
• In 2021, there were 342 cervical cancers diagnosed, 3% lower than pre-pandemic levels (351 in 2019).
• Cervical cancer was nearly twice as commonly diagnosed in the most deprived compared with the least deprived areas of Scotland.

Scottish cervical screening programme statistics^[33]

This release by PHS provides annual and quarterly cervical screening statistics. It reports on screening population coverage by age group, NHS board, deprivation and HPV immunisation status. The most recent publication is for the year ending 31 March 2022.

• The percentage of eligible women (those aged 25 to 64) who were up-to-date with their screening participation was 68.7% in 2021/22. This is down 0.7 percentage points compared with the previous year and has been declining since 2018/19.
• Women from deprived areas are less likely to participate in the screening programme. For the most deprived areas (SIMD 1), 62.4% of eligible women were screened compared with 73.1% of eligible women from the least deprived areas (SIMD 5).
• Uptake of screening is lowest in women aged 25-29 (53%) and increases with age until a peak of 78.6% at 50-54 years, after which the coverage declines again to 69.2% in those aged 60-64.

2.4 Health risks and behaviours

Physical activity

Scottish Health Survey^[34]

SHeS reports on physical activity and sport for adults and children. It measures the proportion of people meeting the Chief Medical Officer’s Physical Activity Guidelines^[35], sedentary time as well as reasons and barriers for participating in physical activity and sport.

• Overall, women are less physically active than men. In 2022, 60% of women met the physical activity guidelines compared with 70% of men.
• This difference by sex can be seen across age bands, SIMD and disability breakdowns.
• For children, the same pattern appears. Two thirds (66%) of girls met the guidelines in 2022 (including activity at school) compared with 72% of boys.
• For adult women the main barriers to taking part in more physical activity or sports are ‘It’s difficult to find the time’ (34%), ‘Health isn’t good enough’ (21%) and ‘Not really interested’ (12%). Most common barriers specified by men were ‘It’s difficult to find the time’ (34%), ‘I already do enough’ (18%) and ‘Health isn’t good enough’ (16%).

Obesity

Scottish Health Survey^[36]

SHeS publishes adult and child data on body mass index (BMI) by age, sex, income, area deprivation and long-term conditions.

• In 2022, 63% of adult women were overweight or obese compared with 70% of men.
• Amongst women, the age group with the highest prevalence of overweight or obese were those aged 55-64 (73%).
• More adult women are living with obesity (BMI of 30+) compared with men, 30% and 28% respectively. Similarly, more women are living with morbid obesity (BMI of 40+) (6%) than men (3%).

Smoking

Scottish Health Survey^[37]

SHeS reports on cigarette and e-cigarette smoking status, frequency, attempts to quit, quit intention and exposure to passive smoke on an annual basis. It also provides breakdowns by sex, age, income, area deprivation and long-term conditions.

• In 2022, 13% of women were current cigarette smokers compared with 18% of men.
• There has been a decrease in the proportion of women reporting themselves to be current smokers over time, decreasing by 15 percentage points from 28% in 2003.
• In 2022 9% of women said they were a current user of e-cigarette or vaping devices compared with 10% of men.
• Unlike smoking cigarettes, there has been an increase of e-cigarette or vaping use for both men and women, increasing from 5% for both in 2014 to 10% for males and 9% of females in 2022.

Alcohol

Scottish Health Survey^[38]

SHeS reports on frequency and level of alcohol consumption on an annual basis. Breakdowns by age, sex, income, area deprivation and long-term illness are provided.

• Women self-report consuming less units of alcohol per week compared with men on average – 8.9 mean units of alcohol per week for women compared with 16.5 mean units of alcohol per week for men in 2022.
• There has been a steady decline in the reported mean number of alcohol units consumed by women over time, decreasing by 1.2 units from 10.1 in 2008.
• Women were less likely to report consuming alcohol at hazardous or harmful levels compared with men in 2022 (15% of women compared with 31% of men).
• This has also steadily decreased for women over time, decreasing by 5 percentage points from 20% in 2008.
• Among women, hazardous or harmful drinking was most prevalent among those aged 35-64 years old (17-20%). Levels of hazardous or harmful drinking were lowest for women aged 75 or over (8%).

2.5 Healthcare experiences

Healthcare access and experiences

Health and Care Experience Survey^[39]

The Health and Care Experience Survey (HACE) is run in partnership by the Scottish Government and Public Health Scotland. It is sent to a random sample of people who are registered with a General Practice (GP) in Scotland, have an address in Scotland and are aged 17 and over. The survey has been conducted every two years since 2009 and asks about people’s experiences of accessing and using their GP and out of hours services, care and support provided by local authorities and other organisations and caring responsibilities. While the most recent publication covers the period 2023/2024, only the 2021/2022 report has publicly available disaggregated data on gender.

Findings from 2021/2022 include that:

• A quarter (25%) of women could not contact their GP in the way they wanted. This proportion was the same for men (25%).
• The proportion of women who were not offered a chance to see or speak to the person they wanted in two days was 71%, similar to the proportion for men (73%).
• When asked how they would rate the care provided by their GP practice, two thirds (66%) of women rated it positively (compared with 67% for men) and 13% rated it negatively (compared with 15% for men)^[40].
• When asked about their engagement with health professionals, 90% of women agreed that they understood the information they were given by a health professional, 86% said they were able to ask questions if they wanted to and 85% said they were listened to.
• Over two fifths (42%) of women said they did not know the healthcare professional well, 14% disagreed that they were given the opportunity to involve the people that matter to them and 13% disagreed that staff helped them feel in control of their treatment/care.

Waiting times

NHS waiting times – stage of treatment statistics^[41]

This release by PHS relates to the length of time patients wait to be seen as a new outpatient or admitted for treatment as an inpatient or day case. The statistics are released quarterly and can be disaggregated by specialty. The data below are for the gynaecology specialty.

• Across the period 1^st April – 30^th June 2024, 60.9% of patient waits on new outpatient waiting lists for gynaecology were seen within 12 weeks^[42] compared with 65.5% for all specialties. 73% of gynaecology patient waits were seen within 20 weeks, compared with 74% for all specialties
• Across the period 1^st April – 30^th June 2024, 62.2% of patient waits on inpatient or day case admissions waiting lists were seen within 12 weeks compared with 58.4% for all specialties. 73% of patient waits were seen within 20 weeks, compared with 68% for all specialties.
• Across the period 1^st April – 30^th June 2024, the number of women on waiting lists of 78 weeks or more for an outpatient appointment had doubled compared to the same period in 2022. Inpatient waiting lists for 104 weeks (two years) had also doubled over the same period.

2.6 Unpaid care and the health and social care workforce

Provision of unpaid care

Scottish Health Survey^[43]

SHeS presents data on unpaid caring prevalence in adults and children disaggregated by sex and the impacts of unpaid caring responsibilities.

• In 2021/2022, 18% of adult women reported providing regular help or unpaid care to someone else compared with 13% of adult men.
• Across all age groups, women were more likely than men to report providing regular help or unpaid care for someone else. For example, 27% of women aged 45-64 reported care giving compared with 20% of men of the same age.
• Women were also less likely to be able to take up paid work due to unpaid caring responsibilities compared with their male counterparts for those aged 25-34, 35-44 and 65-74.

Scotland’s Census^[44]

The Census provides data on provision of unpaid care and disaggregates these data by age and sex. It asked people if they look after, or give any help or support to family members, friends, neighbours or others.

• There was a higher percentage of females providing unpaid care (13.5%) than males (10.1%) in 2022.
• This was the case across most age groups. The gap between females and males was highest in the 50-64 year old age group (23.9% compared with 14.7%) followed by the 35-49 year old age group (17.9% compared with 11.8%).

Health and social care workforce

General Practice workforce^[45]

This annual release by NHS Education Scotland (NES) provides information on the GP workforce contracted to work in Scottish practices. It includes information about the number of GP practices and profile of patients registered. First conducted in 2013, the most recent publication is for the year ending 31 March 2023.

• As at March 2023, 62% of GPs in Scotland were female. This represents a shift over the past 10 years from a near 50/50 split.
• The highest proportion of female GPs are under 40.
• There are roughly the same number of male and female GPs age 50 and older (737 and 795 respectively).
• Female GPs are more likely to work part time. 57% of the GP Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) workforce are female.

Primary care Out of Hours Workforce Survey^[46]

Published annually by NES, the Primary Care Out of Hours (OoH) Workforce Survey has been designed to capture information from the Primary Care OoH services in each NHS Board area. The most recent publication is for the year ending 31 March 2023.

• Female GPs made up a larger percentage of the OoH workforce than male GPs in 2023 (53% compared with 45%). However, female GPs were recorded as providing 42% of the total GP input to OoH services.