Be well at work - Women's Health and Wellbeing

Every woman deserves the best healthcare. Your needs change at different stages of your life - you may be preparing for pregnancy, awaiting the birth of your baby, going through the menopause or looking for answers to women's health queries. Whatever stage you're at, whatever your needs, the PATIENT INFO hub aims to empower you to understand your condition and take control of your own health.

Women's Health Concern (WHC), the patient arm of the British Menopause Society (BMS) provide a confidential, independent service to advise, reassure and educate women of all ages about their gynaecological and sexual health, wellbeing and lifestyle concerns.

Women in the Fire Service

Women in the Fire Service UK (WFS) was set up in the 1990s as a self-help group. They have members of all genders, from all roles across the Fire and Rescue Service - from ﬁreﬁghters and control staff, administrative and support staff and senior officers, to members of airport, defence and works ﬁre services.

Find out more

For information on:

wellbeing
gynaecological cancers
pregnancy and birth
symptoms and problems that affect lots of women

click here to find some helpful tips.

Menopause

Did you know that menopausal women are the fastest growing population at work? Or that around 8 out of 10 menopausal women are in work?

Whilst some women sail through menopause, 3 out of 4 experience symptoms and as many as 1 in 4 have serious symptoms. However, around half have never consulted a healthcare professional about their menopause.

Research also shows that the majority of women are unwilling to discuss menopause related health problems with their line managers, or ask for any support they may need.

Here at South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, we're passionate about the health and wellbeing of our colleagues and that means talking about menopause openly.

“Simply accepted or dismissed for too long, the menopause is now recognised as a workplace issue, with the potential to affect how we perform in our careers.
It's so important that we take the time and make the effort to promote understanding, so this hidden issue can be brought to light and so that we can make this service an even better workplace for all”

Alex Johnson Chief Fire Officer

Support

For more information on the subject, guidance for managers and colleagues, ideas about reasonable adjustments, tips on talking about menopause and support available check out ‘SYFR Menopause Guidance - A Practical Guide’.

Also available are some supporting documents including a menopause risk assessment, risk assessment flowchart and a really useful document ‘Managing your menopause - 3-step process’ from our training partners, Henpicked, to help you work out what's right for you and plan your next steps. Search ‘menopause’ on the SYFR staff intranet to access these.

Screening

Screening is a way of finding out if people are at higher risk of a health problem, so that early treatment can be offered or information given to help you make informed decisions.

The NHS offers a range of screening tests to different sections of the population. Some screening tests are only offered to certain cohorts based on age, sex and health status.

Screening in pregnancy / for newborn babies

Pregnant women and new born babies are offered various types of screening.

Diabetic eye screening

From the age of 12, all people with diabetes are offered an annual diabetic eye test to check for early signs of diabetic retinopathy.

Cervical screening

Cervical screening is offered to women aged 25 to 64 to check the health of cells in the cervix. It is offered every 3 years for those aged 26 to 49, and every 5 years from the ages of 50 to 64.

Breast screening

Breast screening is offered to women aged 50 to 70 to detect early signs of breast cancer. Women over 70 can self-refer.

Bowel cancer screening

There are 2 types of screening for bowel cancer:

A home testing kit is offered to men and women aged 60 to 74.
Bowel scope screening uses a thin, flexible tube with a tiny camera on the end to look at the large bowel. It is offered to men and women at the age of 55 in some parts of England.

For an overview of screening, with links to the different types of screening offered, check out NHS England