Patterns of uptake and problems presented at Well Woman clinics in Liverpool

Well Woman clinics, at which all the staff are women, are provided on an open-access basis by Liverpool Health Authority. In 1986, uptake was low by women over the age of 55, by women from semi-skilled and unskilled manual households, and by women who did not have any formal employment. These, however, are the women who are at greatest risk of ill health. Almost half of the women attending had a vaginal problem or infection, and 40% were anxious or depressed. The clinics, however, are unable to treat any problems diagnosed, and over a third of women using the clinics were referred back to their general practitioner. The findings have important implications for the provision and continuity of primary and preventive care, not least because many women may be reluctant to take the problem which they present to Well Woman clinic doctors to their own (often male) general practitioner in a busy general surgery.