Women in the UK were more likely than their EU counterparts to feel dissatisfied about being able to access high-quality healthcare – such as getting a GP or hospital appointment – where they lived.
The number of women who said chronic conditions inferred with their daily lives has increased by more than 50 per cent in three years.
In total 67 per cent of women in the UK said they were satisfied they could access high-quality healthcare, down from 75 per cent three years ago.
The proportion who said care during pregnancy was satisfactory fell from 77 to 74 per cent in the past year.
The index is compiled through interviews with around 500 women in each country by global analytics firm Gallup and Hologic, a medical technology company specialising in women’s health.
Each country is assigned a score based on how it performs in five areas of women’s health and well-being: preventive care (such as cancer and high blood pressure screening), basic needs (including ease of access to food and housing), health and safety (including how safe women feel walking at night), individual health (including how pain and poor health affect women’s day-to-day lives) and emotional health.
The poll found women in the UK were less likely than those living in EU countries to have received preventive care in the past year, with fewer receiving screening for high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes and sexually transmitted infections than the EU average.
Tim Simpson, of Hologic UK & Ireland, described the findings as “a call for action and improvement”.
He said: “Despite significant potential for progress, the UK is being leapfrogged by other countries, which are making more substantial gains in women’s health.
“This underscores an urgent need for enhanced focus on topics like preventative measures and pregnancy care, to not only catch up but to set a standard for women’s health globally.”
Dr Ranee Thakar, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: “This work underscores the critical need for governments, non-governmental organisations and policy-makers to prioritise women’s health and invest in interventions that put women’s best interests first.”