I shall leave no stone unturned to end this shortage

TWO years ago, none of us could have imagined the phenomenal impact vaccines might have in leading our way out of the worst public health emergency for generations. Bringing together expertise from across the private sector, academia and government meant Britain was the first country in the world to roll out the Oxford University/AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines.

Thanks to the monumental efforts of the NHS and volunteers, we have deployed more than 140 million doses of vaccine across the UK that have become our best defence against Covid.

As Director General of the Vaccine Taskforce, I am immensely proud of what we achieved together on this national mission. We have overcome many obstacles and learned lessons from the pandemic, systematically working through issues to find and implement the right solutions.

I am also proud of the key role that female leaders have played in the pandemic response. Now is the time to extend those successes to another challenge facing the UK – Hormone Replacement Therapy supply.

Menopause is a natural part of ageing but for some women it can have serious and debilitating effects that can impact their work, family life and mental health. I am very pleased the discussion on this topic is opening up and more women are aware of, and accessing, products to help them manage these sometimes distressing symptoms.

While most HRT products are widely available, there are various challenges facing the availability of some products, meaning that some women have been struggling to access the medication they need.

Over the past week, I have read the human stories about how a supply shortage can leave women in a desperate state and about the rationing of their supply of HRT.

This is terrible, and I want to reassure women across the country that I will do everything I can to ensure they can have reliable access to HRT.

Some of the challenges stem from rising demand. There has been a 38 per cent increase in the number of HRT prescription items over the past seven years. This is, of course, positive and we need to work across the system to ensure the supply chain can support demand. We want to make sure HRT supply not only matches demand now, but matches growing demand in the future.

The Government is already taking action. On Friday, in order to even out distribution and make sure that women can access the medication they need, three Serious Shortage Protocols were issued to limit dispensing of three HRT products to three months’ supply. This is a step in the right direction.

The Vaccine Taskforce works closely with suppliers and has done so throughout the Covid pandemic. I will be taking the same approach in this role – working closely with HRT suppliers to understand where their constraints are and what can be done to address them.

I understand why women are worried. We are listening to your concerns and we are leaving no stone unturned to ensure you can access the medication you need.