INTERNET CHEMISTS CASHING IN ON UK HRT CRISIS
Exclusive: Desperate women charged up to FOUR times NHS price for treatment
DESPERATE women are being charged up to four times the NHS price for HRT by online pharmacies, the Daily Mail can reveal.
Doctors last night accused some chemists of cashing in on the nationwide shortage of the menopause treatment.
Increasing numbers of patients are buying products privately online without seeing a GP. Women only have to answer a few questions about their medical history before being sent the items. But many doctors say the medication should only be prescribed under close supervision – with regular check-ups – because it can raise the risk of heart disease, blood clots and some cancers.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said it was ‘very concerned’ that women were
buying products from websites and warned that unregulated sites were potentially unsafe. The Royal College of GPs said ‘unscrupulous’ online chemists were profiting from patients desperate for HRT.
Dr Felix’s online pharmacy in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, is offering a three months’ supply of Elleste Duet Conti pills for £37.99, which would normally be £18 through the NHS in England and Wales. In Scotland, NHS prescriptions are free.
Bristol-based Independent Pharmacy, is selling three months’ supply of FemSeven HRT patches for £68.97. The private chemist also admitted to hiking up the price of another patch, Evorel Conti, to £90 for a three-month supply as the shortages intensified.
Shortages of HRT began in late 2018. Last August, the Mail revealed how hundreds of thousands of women could not get hold of their medication.
The situation came to a head last week when the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the British Menopause Society and the Faculty of Sexual Healthcare urged the Government to set up a working group to investigate the crisis.
Lara Slater, 49, from southeast London, paid £82 for a three-month supply of Evorel Conti from the Independent Pharmacy before the price went up to £90, and then went out of stock. She said: ‘I was just so desperate to get it and thought it would only be for a short while. I’ve got six months’ left but that’s it, they’re sold out.’
Up to a million patients use some form of hormone replace
‘So desperate to get it’
ment therapy to treat hot flushes, night sweats and other symptoms.
Before the shortages began, most women would obtain their HRT from a high street chemist for the price of a standard NHS prescription charge of £9 or £18. Treatments containing one medication, oestrogen, cost £9 while those with two – oestrogen and progesterone – are £18.
Private prescriptions are not subsidised by the NHS and so are typically more expensive.
Dr Edward Morris, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: ‘We are very concerned to hear reports of women paying privately to access HRT treatment. We are in danger of creating a two-tier system whereby only women who can afford to buy their HRT are able to access it.’
Doctors believe the shortages were triggered by supply problems in China, with some of the components of HRT patches.
This had a knock-on effect across other types of treatment, including pills and gels, as doctors switched patients to them.
Health campaigners have emphasised the importance of prescribing HRT under close supervision, as it can increase the risk of breast cancer.
An Independent Pharmacy spokesman said it had raised the price of Evorel Conti patches after wholesalers increased the price. All other online pharmacies declined to comment.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: ‘We understand how distressing the HRT shortage is for women... and want to reassure them we are doing everything we can to help them access treatments.’
SO great is Britain’s HRT crisis that desperate women are flying to europe to get the drugs, or rationing their medication to make dwindling supplies last longer.
Others, as we reveal today, are being ripped off as shameless online pharmacies cash in by raising their prices four-fold.
Fearing the debilitating effects of the menopause, many women feel they have little choice but to fork out.
Hiking prices isn’t illegal. But it’s completely unacceptable to exploit those enduring discomfort or even misery.
Moreover, women are risking their health by buying medication on the internet without a GP consultation.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock can’t say he wasn’t warned. The Mail exposed HRT shortages a year ago. He must resolve this quickly. Britain’s women deserve better.