The 49%
Nearly half of UK Women* are facing significant barriers to accessing contraception, according to a new report from the BPAS. But what does this mean for women in Oxfordshire?
For many people, accessing contraception is a crucial part of their lives.
Yet it seems to remain a personal responsibility for women - one they are often expected to navigate alone.
However, for many across the UK, this process is far from a straightforward process.
For instance, getting an appointment with a sexual health nurse to update their chosen contraception can involve longer waits than a routine GP visit.
The BPAS (British Pregnancy Advice Service) released a new report in October 2024 based on interviews with 1,000 women aged 18-45 and identified several barriers to contraception access, including:
Difficulty getting an appointment with a healthcare provider (12%)
Interference from partners or family members (12%)
Long wait times for procedures** (9%)
The report found the highest dissatisfaction levels among women aged 26-35, many of whom expressed frustration with the system in the report itself.
I spoke to women in Oxfordshire in this age range, about their experiences accessing contraception from their healthcare providers.
[NB: Names will not published for interviewee anonymity.]
“I felt utterly let down,”
She continued, “I found it almost impossible to get an appointment. After a telephone consultation with a GP, I received a text saying I had to book another consultation because the first doctor couldn’t prescribe my contraception method. When I questioned this, I was told to go through the process again.”
Another interviewee shared,
“I was waiting for two months to sort out my pill prescription, and when I contacted my practice, I heard nothing for weeks. They offered me little support and don’t seem to understand the impact these delays have on me.”
These responses reflect a common sentiment: a feeling of being let down by a system that seems to prioritise process over patient well-being.
The struggle to access contraception promptly is an ongoing challenge, and the problem predates the pandemic (but worsened during this time), leading to further disruption in reproductive healthcare services.
Wait times for essential procedures like IUD fittings or implant removals grew significantly. As reported in March 2022 by Nell Frizzell in The Guardian, women were facing wait times of up to 10 weeks for a coil fitting.
The gap between the demand for contraception services and the availability of appointments has serious implications for reproductive rights, health, and autonomy.
This is ultimately putting many women in vulnerable positions.
In 2023, the NHS reported a decrease in the average wait time for routine GP appointments—from 19 days to 10 days.
While this is a positive step, accessing sexual health services remains a challenge. In their manifesto, Labour pledged an additional £1 billion to provide 40,000 more appointments and scans every week, but this applies to general GP appointments, rather than specialised sexual health and contraception.
Though progress is being made on a general scale, there is still a long way to go.
For women whose contraceptive implants expire before they can be replaced, a short-term solution, known as “bridging contraception” (typically the contraceptive pill) is offered.
However, this too requires a medical consultation, and waiting for these appointments only delays access to a solution.
For many, this ongoing frustration highlights the deep-rooted issues in the system. Regardless of this, many women have
The BPAS survey also revealed that 84% of respondents had switched their contraceptive method at least once, most often due to side effects such as mood swings, weight gain, and other physical changes -
“I had to stop taking the pill because it was a nightmare. When I told my GP, they said I should wait it out, but it affected my mood and weight. I eventually found that the implant worked better for me, but to be told I have to return to something that made me miserable doesn’t seem medically ethical.” - Oxfordshire resident.
Such experiences underline the importance of offering women a range of contraceptives and the ability to change methods when necessary for the individual - without facing long delays.
BPAS is calling for urgent action, particularly in the form of transparency regarding wait times for LARC procedures and contraceptive prescriptions, as so far, very little has been reported on this so far.
By publishing local and national statistics on these wait times, the government can not only help reduce delays but also raise awareness of the challenges many women face.
The BPAS advocated in its report for a more patient-centred approach that prioritizes women’s health and well-being over bureaucratic processes.
Another point the report brought to attention was that the conversation around contraception is becoming more talked about increasingly through social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, where influencers share their personal experiences and provide advice to followers and subscribers.
While this democratisation of information allows people to make more informed choices and brings the issues into a more casual and less formal setting, it also carries risks.
Influencers often speak from personal experience, which may not always align with evidence-based medical advice and as social media continues to shape perceptions, the need for accurate, medically sound guidance has never been more urgent.
"Women deserve better than what is on offer now. They deserve improved access to the contraception they want, when they need it.”
Heidi Stewart, BPAS CEO
The BPAS argue that it is time for urgent reform to ensure that all women have the contraception access they need to make informed, autonomous choices about their bodies.
For more information, you can read the full BPAS report here.
If you need support or want to discuss your contraception - here are some sites you can visit:
*For the purposes of this article, we refer to women; however, we acknowledge that these issues also impact people assigned female at birth, who may not identify with female pronouns.
**Long-acting reversible Contraception (LARC) - including the implant