{"id":11902,"date":"2026-05-14T15:27:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T14:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/st-albans-and-district\/?p=11902"},"modified":"2026-05-14T15:43:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T14:43:05","slug":"buzz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/st-albans-and-district\/2026\/buzz\/","title":{"rendered":"The Buzz Club and a Women’s Health Quiz"},"content":{"rendered":"

We had a really interesting Club Meeting on Monday 11 May<\/strong>. Due to lots of different reasons many Club members were unable to join us, so hopefully this \u201cblog\u201d will help them not to feel too left out.<\/p>\n

\"Anna<\/a>The meeting started with Anna Barrett telling us about Citizen Science<\/strong> projects, and The Buzz Club<\/strong><\/a> in particular. Then after coffee Helen Byrne led us through a women\u2019s health quiz. We also caught up on news of members and did some forward planning for the Club\u2019s Programme.<\/p>\n

Citizen Science and The Buzz Club<\/a> \u2013 Anna Barrett<\/strong><\/p>\n

Anna started by showing us a video by Professor David Goulson.<\/p>\n

There were lots of questions, and Anna had brought books and more information along with her.<\/p>\n

\"Helen<\/a>Focus on Women\u2019s Health \u2013 a quiz – Helen Byrne<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the run up to the Club\u2019s 70th<\/sup> anniversary in April 2027<\/strong>, we want to spend some time thinking about women\u2019s issues by looking back at the history and looking forward to what still needs to be done. Women\u2019s Health was the topic for this session at this meeting. The quiz that Helen had put together and the discussions she led helped us to focus on this key area for Soroptimists.<\/p>\n

The quiz targets key milestones and historical changes in women\u2019s health in the UK, highlighting shifts in care from earlier times to today\u2019s NHS initiatives. It covers landmark legal changes, reproductive rights, and evolving medical understanding.<\/p>\n

The group broke into twos and threes to discuss the questions and possible answers.<\/p>\n

You can download the quiz here History of Womens Health Questions<\/a> and the notes that Helen produced for the discussion about the answers are here: Women’s Health History Quiz for SISTA 11 May 2026 Answers and Background<\/a><\/p>\n

\"NHS<\/a>Key Historical Milestones<\/strong><\/p>\n

19th Century: High mortality in childbirth; limited women in medicine.<\/p>\n

1918\/1928: Women get the vote, allowing political focus on health.<\/p>\n

1948: Formation of NHS brings free healthcare, though specialized women\u2019s services developed slowly.<\/p>\n

1960s\/70s: Reproductive revolution (The Pill and Abortion Act).<\/p>\n

The current situation – The NHS Women’s Health Strategy for England <\/strong><\/p>\n

The strategy was refreshed in 2026 to tackle “medical misogyny” and is treated as a 10-year, evolving commitment to ensure women\u2019s voices shape their care.<\/p>\n

It aims to tackle gender health disparities (including for ethnic minorities and disadvantaged groups) by putting women’s voices at the heart of care (addressing findings that 15% of women feel rarely or never listened to by health professionals), reducing diagnosis delays, and improving access to services.<\/p>\n

Key priorities <\/strong>include<\/p>\n