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Demand change

On 29th October 2021, Labour MP Carolyn Harris succeeded in getting HRT costs reduced to a once a year payment in England (an Annual Prepayment Certificate for HRT products). On March 16th, 2022, it was announced that this won't be implemented till April 2023, leaving many women still struggling to pay. 

This change needs to be made sooner, along with transparency about the HRT shortages so that women can more easily afford and obtain vital medication. 

  • There are thought to be an estimated 18 million peri and post menopausal women in the UK, and for millennia menopause has been off the map. Now, thanks to tireless campaigning, it's the biggest women's issue of the moment. Yet menopause provision in the UK remains shockingly poor.

    Healthcare professionals aren't routinely educated about the subject, and health advice is often out of date. Women are regularly refused Hormone Replacement Therapy and other treatments despite the NICE Guidelines. Even if they obtain a prescription, the medication is frequently unavailable - with ongoing shortages.

    We are saying that enough is enough. This isn't a feminist issue or a niche topic. This affects our whole society as women make up over half the population.

    There could be more than 50 symptoms of menopause, and the majority of women will experience at least one. Plummeting hormones, particularly oestrogen, can lead to symptoms lasting years and long term health problems.

    Ensuring that women (whose National Insurance contributions equally support our health service), are seen by trained doctors and nurses and given the latest and best advice isn't a luxury, it's a human right.

    Millions in the UK are struggling mentally and physically because of this catastrophic failure in women's health. We are leaving our jobs, our relationships are suffering, and there are even suicides.

    This is our mandate. We're demanding that long term changes are made right now and that the government and wider society address the inequities faced by women in midlife.

    We invite everyone to join us.

  • REFERENCES:

    MAJORITY OF WOMEN WILL EXPERIENCE SYMPTOMS: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2053369120957514

    SUICIDE RATES UK (2019 STATS): https://media.samaritans.org/documents/SamaritansSuicideStatsReport_2019_Full_report.pdf

    MENOPAUSE SUPPORT SURVEY INTO MEDICAL SCHOOLS: https://menopausesupport.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Web-info-Shocking-Disparity-in-Menopause-Training-in-Medical-Schools-1.pdf

    BRITISH MENOPAUSE SOCIETY HRT: RISK/BENEFIT PROFILE: https://thebms.org.uk/publications/consensus-statements/bms-whcs-2020-recommendations-on-hormone-replacement-therapy-in-menopausal-women/

    NUFFIELD HEALTH HRT PRESCRIBING: https://www.nuffieldhealth.com/article/one-in-four-with-menopause-symptoms-concerned-about-ability-to-cope-with-life

    DEBILITATING SYMPTOMS: https://menopausesupport.co.uk/?page_id=60

    WOMEN BEING PRESCRIBED ANTIDEPRESSANTS: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/10/13/women-face-impossible-choice-menopause-forces-one-eight-quit/

    SYMPTOMS AT WORK: https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2020-10/menopause-and-the-workplace-ipsos-mori.pdf

    WOMEN AND MENTAL HEALTH: https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/menopausal-women-mental-health-b1864347.html?r=52508

    SYMPTOMS OF MENOPAUSE: Cracking the Menopause and https://mpoweredwomen.net/medical/what-are-the-34-symptoms-of-menopause-2/

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WRITE TO YOUR MP

The more of us who write to our MPs, the more traction we build. Here’s how… 

Find out who your local MP is using www.theyworkforyou.co.uk.
Or call the House of Commons Information Office on 020 7219 4272.

Step 1

Find out who your local MP is using www.theyworkforyou.co.uk.
Or call the House of Commons Information Office on 020 7219 4272.

Step 2

Step 3

Then just copy & paste this to them. 

  • Your address
    MP's name
    Date

    Dear [MP’s name]

    Annual Prepayment Certificate for HRT products 

    As you will be aware, on 29th October 2021, Carolyn Harris, Labour MP for Swansea East, Chair of the Menopause All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) and co-chair of the UK Menopause Taskforce, succeeded in getting the promise that HRT costs would be reduced to a once a year payment in England - the Annual Prepayment Certificate for HRT products. On March 16th, 2022, it was announced that this isn't being implemented till April 2023. 

    We are asking that this change be made sooner, and for there to be transparency about the on-going HRT shortages. 

    HRT isn't a luxury and it ought to be available for all who wish to use it. 

    There are thought to be around 26 million peri and post menopausal women in the UK. As ovaries stop producing eggs, our oestrogen levels fluctuate and decrease. Women have oestrogen receptors around their entire bodies, and a lack of it can cause menopause symptoms that can seriously affect both long and short term health. 

    These can include hot flushes, headaches, anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, night sweats, brain fog, decreased libido and vaginal dryness. One in four will suffer serious symptoms. Women leave their jobs, relationships suffer, and there are even suicides. One in a hundred women under the age of 40 goes through premature menopause (POI) and needs HRT.

    Long term, taking HRT is known to have protective effects for the heart and for bones. Expert consensus is that for most women the benefits of HRT outweigh the risks. 

    We are living in times when families are being forced to choose between heating and eating. HRT needs to be easily available and affordable for those choosing to take it. We also need assurances that everything possible is being done to ensure supply, and for there to be transparency around the situation. 

    I would very much like you to raise this issue in parliament.

    Thank you for your help with this matter and I look forward to your response.

    Best wishes

    [Your name]