- TV personality Davina McCall’s campaign has helped raise awareness
Almost 11 million menopause prescriptions have been handed out in the past year – following a Daily Mail campaign calling for better access to treatments.
There was a 47 per cent increase in prescriptions for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) compared to 2021-2022, official figures show.
HRT helps menopausal women who suffer from symptoms such as low mood, hot flashes, anxiety and sleep problems.
The increase follows an unprecedented increase in the number of prescriptions in recent years, partly due to the ‘Davina effect’.
TV personality Davina McCall has released a series of documentaries about menopause which, along with the efforts of campaigners, has led to a huge increase in awareness.
TV personality Davina McCall has raised awareness of the issue through a series of documentaries on menopause
National shortages of HRT also led to an email campaign launched last year, calling for more women to be made aware of the symptoms and treatment options.
Less than a month after the launch of the campaign, the government made it easier for pharmacists to substitute HRT treatments if certain medicines were out of stock. HRT treatment also became available without a prescription in a historic first in Britain, and earlier this year a scheme that saves menopausal women more than £200 a year came into effect.
The new figures, published in a report from the NHS Business Services Authority, also show that an estimated 2.3 million identifiable patients were prescribed HRT medicines in 2022-2023 – a 29 per cent increase on the previous year – with women between 50 and 54 years old being the largest group. group of patients.
The report also highlighted that in the least deprived areas more than twice as many patients were prescribed HRT drugs as in the most deprived areas.
A graph showing how prescriptions for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) have skyrocketed since 2015
Menopause campaigner Diane Danzebrink said: ‘It’s disappointing to see the inequality. This clearly indicates the need for a national campaign.’
Earlier this month, campaigners called on women to get free health checks during menopause at the age of 40.
Cross-party MPs and peers have also called for the ‘discussion and diagnosis’ of menopause to be included in the midlife MOT for women. The all-party parliamentary group also said GPs should be encouraged to diagnose menopause.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Maria Caulfield says the government is considering adding menopause to the conditions under which GPs are assessed.