Report: Improving health outcomes for women with multiple unmet needs
Working with The Nelson Trust and its peer leaders, 51 women completed our survey. This was faciliated by key workers to ensure the women felt safe sharing their comments with us.
We asked about:
- Family and social services
- Abuse and domestic violence
- Housing
- Drugs and alcohol
- Sexual violence and exploitation
- Mental health
- General and sexual health
- Police and probation
- Support
What did women tell us?
"Been told to address my addiction first and then go back. It is completely backwards, my mental health and trauma is the reason why I chose substances to quieten my head."
"Having to jump through hoops to get anywhere, that on top of mental health, depression and anxiety is not the best. I hate going to CGL (Change Grow Live) as I see dealers and active users and one of my perpertrators."
"Repeating myself and nothing happens, they get away with it anyway, it is normal to ignore what has happened. I don’t feel safe with Police, I feel judged."
Download our full report below.
Downloads
Key findings and themes
- Quality of Care – inconsistent provision and a lack of trauma informed practice prevents the women from building trust with health and social care providers.
- Access to Services – problems with the accessibility of health and social care services prevents women from feeling heard. Often resulting in multiple referrals before any progress is actioned and a feeling of being supported is achieved.
- Health Impact – women left feeling unheard and not enough support being provided until they hit crisis point.
Recommendations
To support women with multiple unmet needs, our approach must be strengthened, to deliver a more supportive, responsive and equitable health care provision.
- Acknowledging the insight women with lived experience can provide along with specialist organisations such as The Nelson Trust. Local authorities and NHS should review their approaches to women’s health, ensuring people with lived and living experience of multiple and complex needs are represented and able to support the development of training for health and social care services.
- To further cement the awareness amongst health and care professionals, we would encourage the pilot use of Trauma Cards in Swindon, as initiated by Healthwatch Essex.
- These steps would require a complete overview of current working practice but would provide the robust support women require, improving health and care outcomes.
Carrie Roberts, Deputy Centre Manager at The Nelson Trust, Swindon Women’s Centre, said:
"This report shines a vital light on the lived experiences of women facing multiple and complex needs. The findings echo what we at The Nelson Trust witness daily: that trauma, stigma, and systemic barriers continue to shape women’s health outcomes and limit their access to compassionate, consistent, and equitable care. The honesty of the women who shared their stories is powerful, and their words remind us why trauma-informed practice and person-centred approaches are not optional – they are essential."
We are grateful for The Nelson Trust's support with this piece of work. You can read Carrie's full response in our report.
Next steps
This report will be shared with key stakeholders, including:
- Swindon Borough Council
- Swindon Safeguarding Partnership
- Health and Wellbeing Board / JSNA Team
- Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board
If you would like to share your feedback with us, please complete our online feedback form.
