HRT woes are‘national scandal’
As Mail calls for better access to vital treatment, study finds millions face ‘unnecessary misery’ in menopause
MENOPAUSAL women are caught up in a ‘national scandal’ which sees as many as one in ten forced to leave jobs due to debilitating symptoms, according to the largest study of its kind.
Researchers say women are put through ‘unnecessary misery’ – with the equivalent of 333,000 women aged 45 to 55 quitting work while suffering symptoms such as brain fog, lack of sleep, hot flushes and depression.
A further 14 per cent of women in the UK have reduced their hours at work, 14 per cent decided to go part-time and 8 per cent had not applied for promotion while going through the menopause.
And 77 per cent of women find at least one menopause symptom ‘very difficult’ to cope with.
The survey of more than 4,000 women aged 45 to 55 lays bare the hardships faced by menopausal women – and the dire need to remedy the nation’s HRT crisis.
On Saturday, the Daily Mail launched a manifesto calling for urgent changes to the way HRT medication is prescribed, processed and distributed.
South of the Border, women face prescription charges of £9.35 – or £18.70 if they need two types of hormones.
And although NHS prescriptions are free in Scotland, women who opt to buy their own drugs online will still have to pay for them.
Our manifesto also demands making it mandatory for medical students to be taught about the menopause, and for women to be given menopause information at NHS health checks.
Supply chain problems and poor planning amid unprecedented demand have led to a shortage of HRT, mostly a type of oestrogen gel. Women who rely on the treatment to ease the side-effects of the menopause have been left ‘suicidal’, and desperation has led to a ‘gold rush’ on pharmacies with stock, with some likening the situation to wartime rationing.
The new research, which is believed to be the largest survey of menopausal women conducted in the UK, was commissioned as part of a Channel 4 documentary presented by campaigner Davina McCall, which airs tonight at 9pm.
The study revealed nearly a third of women agreed it took many appointments for their GP to realise they were menopausal or peri-menopausal. Just 39 per cent said they had been offered HRT after diagnosis, and 44 per cent experience three or more symptoms they class as ‘very difficult’, such as brain fog and joint pain.
The survey was commissioned by Channel 4 and supported by the Fawcett Society, which has produced a report called Menopause And The Workplace.
The Fawcett Society chief executive Jemima Olchawski said: ‘Menopausal women are experiencing unnecessary misery and it’s a national scandal.
‘Too often menopause symptoms have been dismissed as a joke and HRT has been labelled a lifestyle drug.
‘The Government needs to make urgent changes, from requiring employers to have menopause action plans, to creating a route into menopause healthcare, to ensuring that GPs are adequately trained to spot menopause symptoms.’
Miss McCall, 54, added: ‘One out of ten women quit their jobs due to menopause. This really broke my heart... because these are women at the top of their game and then they just can’t cope in their jobs any more. We’re talking teachers, doctors and nurses. And if we don’t look after them, who is going to look after us?’
Prescriptions for HRT have more than doubled in five years, according to NHS data. Figures from OpenPrescribing suggest nearly 538,000 prescriptions for HRT treatment were issued in December, compared with 238,000 in January 2017.