MNHQ here: perimenopause, menopause and the HRT shortage - our new campaign

[RowanMumsnet]

Hello

We're pleased to announce a new campaign - this time in tandem with our sister site Gransnet - focusing on the menopause and perimenopause.

In this first phase we're aiming to get politicians to focus on the HRT shortage and do what's needed to sort it out.

In our survey, 43% of those taking HRT say they’ve been affected by current shortages, and 40% have been told by a pharmacist or GP that their current HRT medication isn’t available. And we know from conversations on Mumsnet that this issue is affecting lots of our users.

You can see more results from our survey here.

We'd love you to help us out by putting some pressure on candidates standing in your area for election - you can find some suggestions for actions you can take here.

And as ever please do let us know what you think.

Thanks
MNHQ

Good stuff MN. Well done.

Well done MN.

But this seems to have taken quite a long time ...?

Excellent

Are there still shortages in US?

As well as asking us to put pressure on our MPs, what campaign actions is Mumsnet taking?

I'm not sure this is an MP issue.
There are plenty of steps being taken by menopause specialists and the BMS to try to get to the root of why this has happened.

Also, I understand there is a shortage of many other drugs in the UK, e.g. asthma meds.

It would help to understand the reasoning.

(I am both asthmatic & on HRT)

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-50465563

although the HRT shortage seems to be worse than the others:

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/10/01/pharmacists-warn-shortages-every-category-drug-hrt-supply-issue/

Good. What's the plan?

Hurrah
Thank you mumsnet

Jolly good. But if anyone meanwhile wants any HRT patches, I have some that I can send to them for the cost of postage only (now on tablets, as I was allergic to the adhesive in the patches). Please DM me if you want them. Needless to say, the GP put me on the only tablets that were available, rather than the best tablets for my peri symptoms...

What are they @Scardanelli? I'm on Evorel Sequi ...

I have some Evorel Conti patches if anyone needs them. I took the decision to come off HRT a couple of months ago so I no longer need them.

Please send me a PM if you can't get your own.

Thanks, I think the more publicity this gets the better.

Would it be cliched to say that if it was something men had to take every day to feel normal there wouldn't be a shortage?

It might be, TheMarbleFaun, but I expect that’s a factor.

My gp gave me a years supply last visit is that usual? I've only been on hrt since the summer. The pharmacy had trouble getting it all.

Great. I'm on tablets - but not the ones I was originally on as they are now not available.

There was news about Evorel yesterday that said it'd be available Feb 2020. I'll find it.

The cynic in me thinks it is the Pharmaceutical companies using Brexit as an excuse and reducing manufacturing so it can push the price up that that they sell to the NHS.

News on Evorel

twitter.com/menomatters/status/1198042705701560320?s=21

It is a global supply chain issue, isn't it?

That was used as a Brexit issue, even though it was (is?) happening in many countries globally.

And of course linking something which is unconnected to Brexit just a) put people's backs up and (more importantly) b) shoved the issue into the 'get a bit more clarity on what sort of Brexit and when' category rather than any realisations n it needed tackling.

This is exactly the wrong time to be expecting MOs to act.

It might be a good time to gather information, if aim is to lobby new government asap.

Could MNHQ launch a staffer to research throughly the causes? Which manufacturers are involved and where they are based? Whether/how regional supply chains are making difference?

Because I'm not sure that the actialmcayses are well enough known. And unless you do know what it is that needs to be fixed, it's hard to see what can be done other than making that useless cry of 'do something'

I disagree scaevola. If we as health service users (but not medical supply chain experts) experience a serious problem in the NHS then it’s entirely appropriate to lobby the Department of Health via our MPs to prioritise a solution even if we don’t personally know what that solution should be. The DHSC has two thousand staff, many of them far more equipped to understand and address the problem than a random MN staffer.

Thanks all

@TheyMostlyComeOutAtNightMostly

I disagree scaevola. If we as health service users (but not medical supply chain experts) experience a serious problem in the NHS then it’s entirely appropriate to lobby the Department of Health via our MPs to prioritise a solution even if we don’t personally know what that solution should be. The DHSC has two thousand staff, many of them far more equipped to understand and address the problem than a random MN staffer.

Yes, this is what we think is the most useful thing we can do in the next couple of weeks - although of course, if you think there's another useful action we could be taking right now, we're all ears.

Our understanding is that nobody fully understands why this specific shortage has become so bad. We know that a couple of journalists are looking at this right now and we're interested to see what conclusions they come to.

In the meantime though, the Department for Health and whoever turns out to be the next Secretary of State for Health seems to us to be the best pressure point; the government and its regulatory agencies are the ones who have the power to bang a few heads together.

But, again, if you think there's another action we could be taking too - do let us know!

And of course the aim of lobbying candidates during the election period and asking them to make a commitment is so that when some of them are elected (and thus in a position to put pressure on as MPs) we can return to them and confidently ask them to follow up!

But there is a lot being done already behind the scenes by organisations like the British Menopause Society.

The real issue is that no one knows why there is a shortage. It's not just HRT it's dozens of drugs incl those for cancer and really serious diseases.

There was a rumour that it was because of stock piling in the warehouses pre. Brexit, then it was stockpiling the raw materials, so lower volume of production.

Then it was because the drugs were being exported back to the EU because of the value of sterling and wholesalers were making more money by selling outside the UK.

I don't think most MPs are going to be bothered with this in the next 3 weeks. It's a national problem affecting lots of people not just women although I agree that we need to know why it's happened.