WI National Resolutions

1. Let’s talk about incontinence

It is estimated that 14 million people in the UK of all ages are suffering from bladder problems and a further 6.5 million with bowel problems. However, it is still a subject that is misunderstood and very hard to talk about. We call upon the UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and Wales’ Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care to examine in detail all areas of health and wellbeing that are affected by incontinence issues. We call for the government to commit to an up-to-date audit to provide a national picture of incontinence care, offering a baseline from which to drive improved services. We call upon the members of the WI to raise public awareness, remove the stigma around incontinence, to help reduce the significant impact on people’s lives.

2. Bystanders can be lifesavers

There are over 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests a year in the UK, and less than one in ten people survive. Women have a lower chance of surviving than men. Early cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillating can more than double the chances of survival. We call on WI members to work together to increase public confidence and training in the delivery of CPR and to work with local organisations to help improve access to defibrillators in their communities to give every person the best chance of surviving a cardiac arrest.

3. Join the repair revolution

There is a huge excess in clothing production which has devastating consequences for the environment. The WI calls on the UK Government to join the repair revolution and strengthen the law and investment to support a circular economy of clothing and fabrics in the UK, where repair and reuse are achievable, accessible, and affordable to all. We also call on WI members to promote clothing reuse and repair in their communities.

4. Eliminate landfill of medication packaging

Medication packaging, due to its complexity, is not routinely recyclable through local authority collections, usually leading to disposal in landfills. We call on the WI to proactively raise awareness by encouraging additional collection points where empty packaging can be easily returned for recycling. Furthermore, we call on manufacturing companies to acknowledge their moral responsibility to reduce their environmental impact by exploring simpler packaging alternatives that are easier to recycle or have less impact on the environment. These steps can significantly improve recycling rates to move towards eliminating landfill.