Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: Kathleen on April 22, 2022, 05:01:15 PM
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Hello ladies
A small article in today's Guardian reported on the shortage of HRT.
Speaking in the Commons yesterday Caroline Nokes asked the Leader of the House to arrange for a debate to make sure that pharmacies are working with the DHSC to ensure that women get the supplies they need.
Louise Newson is also quoted and apparently 99% of 3,800 UK women surveyed said that the menopause had affected their careers.
I read the article in today's paper but it probably also appears online.
Obviously we can't predict the outcome but at least the problem is being talked about.
Take care ladies.
K.
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Hi Kathleen I saw Mariella Frostrup talking about it on daytime TV today. Apparently the government haven’t fulfilled their promise on hrt so she, Davina McCall, Louise Newson and others have formed a group to do something about it. Watch this space x
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Thank goodness, well done DM and LN for pursuing this.
We really all need to get behind them and bring the issue to the forefront of the media and parliament.
How can we do this from our MM forum? x
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I don’t know but count me in - girl power x
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Perhaps Dr C will have some suggestions?
Could we write an open letter from MM members to the powers that be?
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Good idea Marchlove let’s do it x
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Oh gosh!
I don’t feel up to composing a letter primarily because I don’t take nhs hrt although a few of my friends do and are having difficulty in obtaining.
So might be better if a letter was composed by a member who is actually having the same problem but of course written in behalf of everyone.
Any volunteers?
Then we need to decide who to send it to?
Plus we need to get it into the press somehow. X
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How would it be if those using the NHS for HRT just put a YES below as a means of recording and replying to the issue that something needs to be done urgently to resolve the problem of women not being able to get the HRT they need due to shortages which needs investigating promptly due to the risks to their health if continuity becomes impossible and that finding an alternative may not suit and disrupt progress made. Then, someone (volunteer?) could alert Emma to the thread requesting it is drawn to Dr. Currie's attention? This could then carry the most weight, going forward, if a letter went to a "broadsheet" and to the appropriate MP from the website "chair"? This may already be in the pipeline of course! 🤔
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YES.
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Contact Louise Newson and add your voice? If required, she may put a survey on her website so that she can quote numbers .
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YES
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I felt it would be better to broaden the bodies of folk concerned, CLKD, as I think was Marchlove's intention. NH is now an enormous machine, focusing entirely on providing for those who can afford it. We need the voice of those outwith this category, possibly moreso, as the issue is within the NHS. Maybe if we can keep this thread just for YES's, it will be less complicated for Emma to navigate instead of filtering through opinions. Or am happy to start a whole new thread, just inviting folk to say YES, essentially a count. Thoughts, ladies? 🤔
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YES
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Absolutely Postmeno3, it was my intention.
Probably best if you start a new thread explaining the situation and the need for MM to have our own action plan, letter etc
Your YES idea is great!
Then once we have Emma and Dr C on board we can have a new thread on suggestions for who to send it. I know of the extreme difficulties ladies have in Scotland so it needs careful thought and needs to go to the top people, not just MP’s.
Thanks Postmeno3 xxx
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Have said Yes on the new thread.
Found this written by Heather Currie in March 2020
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2053369120910693?icid=int.sj-full-text.similar-articles.3
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Hi Marchlove, thanks for the link. I agree with all that Dr. Currie has said, but if you want to read about more specific causes for the HRT shortages, you might want to take a look at this article shared on Instagram https://hrt-shortages.tiiny.site
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What has happened to the one off yearly payment for HRT prescriptions that was agreed last October. My chemist and GP surgery have been told nothing.
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Oh it won’t letter me open it Uptick!
Could you post a few bullet points? x
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Let!
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Oh it won’t let me open it Uptick!
Could you post a few bullet points? x
Try again, I've uploaded it on a temporary hosting site. I think you can download it, it's a long article!
https://hrt-shortages.tiiny.site
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This is all very worrying and I suppose I hadn’t actually realised how global markets, influences, supply chains are having such a profound effect on everything.
The only solution I feel is that we need to have a home grown hrt industry so that we are not so reliant on all these external factors though raw ingredients will still be a challenge.
That’s not something that will happen overnight I fear and in the meantime….
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Exactly, the 'experts' call this 'Global Supply Pain' (global supply chain). Really troubling if you think about the people whose lives depend on medication.
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It's just not good enough. There are women who respond only to specific brands of HRT and being without it can be catastrophic.
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Ladies, I am closing the tally thread now so that things can have the time needed to process given the urgency of the situation. Thank you all so much, a fantastic response. As promised, I will pass the info on to Emma, the forum moderator, for Dr. Currie's attention. I'll step down at this point, having asked Emma to inform the forum of any decisions.
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Thank you Postmeno3 for all your help with this. xx
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Estadot in short supply in Ireland, date of expected availability Mid July 2022. It's probably a knock-on effect from Oestrogel shortages, but Qlaira contraceptive is also in short supply and the motive given was API unavailability.
https://www.hpra.ie/docs/default-source/Shortages-Docs/estradot-letter-of-communication-mar-2022.pdf?sfvrsn=2
https://www.hpra.ie/homepage/medicines/medicines-information/medicines-shortages