HRT crisis: Why are so many still suffering?
Minister rapped over shortage
TENS of thousands of women are being harmed by ‘ catastrophic’ shortages of HRT and contraception, campaigners have warned.
Professional bodies, doctors and MPs are demanding immediate action from the Health Secretary to alleviate the crisis, insisting ‘women deserve better’.
And Diane Danzebrink, founder of the Menopause Support campaign, called the situation a ‘national disgrace’.
In a joint letter to Matt Hancock, health chiefs warned that women have been left in distress for more than a year due to shortages of HRT medication.
Meanwhile, worsening shortages of contraceptive drugs are causing ‘utter chaos’, leading to unplanned pregnancies and risking a spike in abortions.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the British Menopause Society and the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare urged the Government to launch a working group to investigate the crisis.
In a letter highlighting the ‘lack of transparency’ over the reaaddition sons for the shortages, they said it is still unclear why they ‘seem to be unique to the UK’.
And Conservative MP Caroline Nokes said: ‘It seems incomprehensible that this has been allowed to drag on for so long, and the DHSC should be using every effort to get it sorted. I have met constituents who have obtained the patches they need in Spain whilst on holiday and they are understandably furious that they cannot get them here.’
The shortage of hormone replacement therapy, first exposed by the Mail, has been going on for more than a year.
It has hit ‘almost all’ of the million women in the UK who take HRT, which replaces oestrogen lost during menopause. Many have had to switch brands or even go cold turkey, prompting the return of symptoms such as anxiety and hot flushes. The letter to Mr Hancock said that, in to women being left in ‘distress’ due to HRT being unavailable, they are also suffering from shortages of several brands of contraceptive pill, including Cilest and Loestrin. It said: ‘We are concerned this situation may lead to a rise in unplanned pregnancies and abortions.’
Miss Danzebrink, of Menopause Support, said: ‘The women of this country have been let down and neglected by the Government. It’s a national disgrace.’
But Dr Edward Morris, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: ‘We understand the HRT supply situation should begin to improve from [this month] as the range of products which supply 70 per cent of the HRT patch market will be reintroduced to the UK market.
‘However a number of HRT medications and contraceptives remain unavailable, some until the end of this year, and some with no timeline as to when they will be back on the market. We are calling on the DHSC to set up a working group.’
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: ‘We understand how distressing medicine shortages are and we want to reassure patients we are doing everything we can.’
■ Women in the West Midlands are waiting ten weeks for smear test results. Thousands are thought to have been hit by a backlog at Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. The target is two weeks.