Nicola’s Law: Improve Women’s Healthcare Through Mandatory Training

26,201

Recent signers:
Christianne and 19 others have signed recently.

The Issue

The Issue - End Medical Mysoginy in Women’s Health Care through a positive approach. We are calling for mandatory, standardised evidence based women’s health training for healthcare professionals.

We lost a dear family member, Nicola Thyne, to a tragedy that should never have happened. Nicola died by suicide in January 2024 after living for many years with endometriosis and chronic pain. Her planned operation was cancelled the week before she ended her life. 

We are sharing her story not to place blame on individuals, but to call for system-wide change in how women’s health is understood, recognised, and treated.

Across the UK, women continue to face: delayed diagnosis, symptoms being dismissed or normalised, fragmented care, poor understanding of chronic pain, hormonal and reproductive conditionsa lack of compassionate, informed support

This is not rare.

This is not acceptable. And this is not just about one condition.

Women living with endometriosis, PCOS, PMS, PMDD, perimenopause, menopause, and other complex health conditions are too often left unheard and unsupported.

What We Are Calling For:

We are calling for mandatory, standardised evidence based women’s health training for healthcare professionals, with a specific focus on conditions that disproportionately affect women.

This training should include: menstrual health, reproductive and hormonal conditions, chronic pain, mental health, the emotional and psychological impact of living with long-term women’s health conditions

It should be:

evidence-based

regularly updated
implemented consistently
supported by appropriate regulatory and professional bodies

Why This Matters

Nicola’s story is, tragically, not unique.

Too many women are still experiencing delayed diagnosis, dismissal, and avoidable suffering because women’s health has not been prioritised enough across education, training, and care systems.

By signing this petition, you are helping to call for meaningful change — so that women’s health is taken seriously, recognised earlier, and treated with the urgency and compassion it deserves.

Important Clarification

This petition calls for system-level learning and improvement.

It does not seek to blame individual clinicians or services.

The term “medical misogyny” is used here to describe systemic gender bias in healthcare — where women’s symptoms, pain, and health concerns have too often been minimised, misunderstood, or under-prioritised.

Evidence Context

This petition supports the direction of the Scottish Government’s Women’s Health Plan, which recognises ongoing inequalities in women’s healthcare, including delayed diagnosis, dismissal, and gaps in training and awareness.

National evidence has also shown:

many women feel unheard by healthcare professionals
reproductive health symptoms are often normalised or dismissed
stronger education and training in women’s health is still needed

By signing this petition, you are honouring Nicola’s memory and helping to push for a healthcare system where women are listened to, believed, and better supported.

Please visit our website to read Nicola’s story:

🌸 www.nicolas-supporting-women.com

🌸 Our campaign has now reached the Scottish Parliament

Thanks to the incredible support of more than 25,000 people who signed this petition, our campaign has now reached the next stage.

An official Scottish Parliament petition (PE2218) has been accepted and is now under consideration. This gives us the opportunity to ask the Scottish Parliament to consider introducing mandatory, standardised women’s health training for all GPs and NHS healthcare professionals across Scotland.

If you live in Scotland, please take a moment to sign the official Scottish Parliament petition too. Every signature helps demonstrate the strength of public support for improving women’s healthcare.

Please sign the official Scottish Parliament petition here 👇👇👇👇👇

⁠PE2218https://petitions.parliament.scot/petitions/PE2218?fbclid=IwdGRjcATEvERwZG9mAWZkaWQWUKm8HCAzlDd5UQ39Gm3ywr4Lh-hzuWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR6fWeyXMwqThPjnc4FVtEtO7Hhf64ALyFIJyFS9tsMw9FWhgwKz6JpkMRGtyg_aem_FleXCJ72WaEAnoSh0ypFWw

Thank you for standing with us. Together, we can continue to push for the changes women deserve. 💜🌸

Thank you for your support

Nicola’s

avatar of the starter
June SmilliePetition StarterI am the founder of Nicola’s. <a href="http://www.nicolas-supporting-women.com" rel="nofollow">www.nicolas-supporting-women.com</a>

The Decision Makers

UK Government Department of Health and Social Care
UK Government Department of Health and Social Care

Supporter Voices

Petition Updates