Women face a postcode lottery of menopause care with some GPs unaware they can even prescribe HRT, a health minister admitted.
Maria Caulfield told MPs that standards are a ‘bit hit and miss’, with patients in different parts of the country getting a ‘very different service’.
She also sparked fury by revealing plans to cut prescription costs for asianbookie hormone replacement therapy (HRT) by up to £200 a year will not come into effect until next April.
The Department of Health announced in October that women would be able to get a year’s supply of an HRT drug for link alternatif w88 £9.35, the cost of a single prescription.
The announcement followed a high-profile campaign supported by celebrities including Penny Lancaster and Davina McCall.
However, link alternatif asianbookie Miss Caulfied yesterday told the Commons women and equalities committee that technical issues meant the ‘prepayment certificate’ for HRT could not be implemented for link alternatif asianbookie over a year.
Carolyn Harris, a Labour MP who sits on the committee and has called for HRT to be made available for free, said she was ‘really, really, really annoyed’ by the delay and warned many women suffering severe menopausal symptoms cannot afford the current costs, review w88 with some becoming suicidal.
The Department of Health announced in October that women would be able to get a year’s supply of an HRT drug for £9.35, the cost of a single NHS prescription. (stock image)
The new system, to be implemented next year, would allow a woman to pay a one-off annual fee and collect the HRT each month without needing to see their GP.
(stock image)
Around 1.5 million women a year experience post-menopausal symptoms including hot flushes, night sweats, sleep disturbance and mood swings.
Of those, around 150,000 are prescribed HRT tablets, gels, creams or patches.
Current guidelines allow GPs to issue a year’s worth of HRT on a single prescription, fuelling ongoing supply shortages that have led to a black market trade.
The new system, to be implemented next year, would allow a woman to pay a one-off annual fee and collect the HRT each month without needing to see their GP.
Anne Connolly, w88 login of the Royal College of GPs, said: ‘Women’s health is a key part of [our] curriculum, which all GPs must demonstrate competence of in order to practise independently in the UK.’
