UK ministers plan to appoint a king of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to help address the acute shortage that activists say leaves menopausal women unable to sleep or work.
The shortage of HRT products has led some women to buy them on the black market or ask friends to buy drugs abroad for them.
Sajid Javid, the health minister, told the Mail on Sunday that he planned to tackle the problem by appointing a new HRT king with a role modeled on that of Kate Bingham, who successfully led the government’s Covid vaccine working group.
Approximately 1 million women in the UK are on HRT, which is available in patches, pills and gels. Helps relieve the debilitating effects of menopause, including anxiety, hot flashes and insomnia.
The shortage was raised last week in the municipality by Caroline Knox, the Conservative MP and chair of the Committee on Women and Equality.
She said pharmacies in her constituency had completely exhausted HRT, “which leaves women of a certain age … without access to the estrogen gel, which allows us to sleep and work competently.”
Knox told the Mail on Sunday: “You can’t help but feel that if it was a drug used exclusively by men, they would have sent the army to increase production by now.
Javid said: “I know how many women rely on HRT and that some are struggling to get certain drugs. I am determined to do my best to ensure that supplies meet the extremely growing demand and that there is fair access.
“We will urgently convene a meeting with suppliers to look at ways we can work together to improve supply in the short and long term.
“It is also clear to me that we need to apply some of the lessons from the Vaccines Working Group to this challenge, so we will soon be hiring a HRT supply chair.”
Campaigners say medical sexism and lack of training mean many women are left to suffer from menopausal symptoms, which also include depression and brain fog.
Research estimates that 14 million working days a year are lost to the UK economy as a result of menopausal symptoms. One in four women who are experiencing symptoms – many at the peak of their careers – are considering quitting their jobs.
The number of HRT prescriptions in England has doubled in the last five years to 538,000 in December, according to the latest figures. Manufacturers blame a combination of rising demand and problems with the supply of ingredients for shortages.
Labor MP Carolyn Harris, co-chair of the UK Working Group on Menopause, which met for the first time in February, welcomed Javid’s intervention. “There are many women who rely on him to improve the current situation,” she said. “We should never have been in this situation.”
Katie Taylor, founder of the Latte Lounge support group, said it was “welcome news, albeit long overdue”.
She added: “We have had reports from hundreds of women, many of whom are simply utterly desperate. They can’t get their usual prescription, so many drive for hours to go to four, five or six different pharmacists.
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