The NHS Took 71 Years To Realise Women Have Periods

The National Health Service is, of course, a crowning glory of our silver girt and sceptered isle. A Wonder of the World so fabulous that no one has decided to copy it, everyone else gaining better health care through other methods and organisations. A good example of why being that it has taken the NHS 71 years to realise that women have periods.

OK, to be fair about this, not all women do in these transphobic times – transphobia often being defined as that insistence that not all who call themselves women do. Aside, that is, from the observation that some women have not yet matured into menstruation and others have matured out of it.

Still, you’d think that an organisation which has had a substantial portion of the population passing through it these past seven decades might have noticed but apparently not:

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] Two out of five hospital trusts and health boards in the UK do not give sanitary products to patients who need them, or only in emergencies, an investigation by the BMA has found. The doctors’ union says pads and tampons are a basic need and should be available free to inpatients. But in some trusts, razors and shaving foam were handed out free while sanitary products were not. The BMA has written to NHS England asking for action to be taken. The BMA asked a total of 223 trusts and health boards across the UK about the policy towards supplying sanitary products. Out of 187 who responded, 104 said they did supply them. But 25 said they did not supply them at all and 54 said they did, but only in emergencies or in small amounts. None of the trusts and health boards which responded said they had a policy on when sanitary products were handed out. And at 27 trusts, there was nowhere to buy sanitary products anywhere on site. [/perfectpullquote]

Apparently we should be grateful that they’ve noted the existence of male secondary sexual characteristics, beards and whiskers, even if the NHS is still a bit shy about wimmins’ bits.

There’s even that thought that shouldn’t the BMA know this already? After all, their own members have been working in the NHS these past decades, doctoring is indeed now – at entry level at least – a female dominated profession, hasn’t anyone had a look around?

Sure, of course, I’m being unfair. But then again, look at what the complaint is. The government run, government funded, government managed, National Health Service has not as yet, after 71 years of operation, worked out that women have menstrual cycles and that perhaps something to deal with them might be a good idea. You know, while they while away those days and months in bed awaiting their turn for the government funded, government managed, government provided, health care?

And to think that no other nation has copied this Wonder of the World, crowning achievement of the British civilisation. It’s just so terribly difficult to work out why, isn’t it.