Women should get free menopause checks at the age of 40 and have easier access to hormone medication, campaigners have said.
All women are currently offered mid-life MOTs to screen for certain health problems such as heart disease, diabetes and stroke.
Now, cross-party MPs and Peers are calling for the ‘discussion and diagnosis’ of menopause to be integrated as part of the examination.
It is one of seven recommendations put forward by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Menopause ahead of the next General Election.
The ‘Manifesto for Menopause’ also includes calls for a national formulary for hormone replacement therapy (HRT), allowing doctors and pharmacists to prescribe any approved medicines instead of the current ‘postcode lottery’ of treatment.
Cross-party MPs and Peers are calling for the ‘discussion and diagnosis’ of menopause to be integrated as part of the examination. It is one of seven recommendations put forward by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Menopause ahead of the next General Election. The ‘Manifesto for Menopause’ also includes calls for a national formulary for hormone replacement therapy (HRT), allowing doctors and pharmacists to prescribe any approved medicines instead of the current ‘postcode lottery’ of treatment
They said GPs should be incentivised to diagnose the menopause, with more done to ensure medical professionals feel ‘equipped and empowered’ to prescribe all types of HRT.
Large companies of over 250 employees should be forced to introduce menopause action plans, they added.
Other reforms include the licensing of female-specific testosterone, more funding for menopause research and to review and improve specialist care provision.
It follows a Daily Mail campaign, launched last year, that called for more women to be made aware of symptoms and treatment options.
Less than a month after the campaign launch the government announced a Serious Shortages Protocol, making it easier for pharmacists to substitute treatments.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) also made the decision to make a particular form of HRT available over-the-counter in a landmark UK first, and a scheme saving menopausal women more than £200 a year came into force earlier this year.
Carolyn Harris, Labour MP for Swansea and chair of the APPG on Menopause, said: ‘I’m proud of how far we’ve come since we launched the menopause revolution two years ago.
‘The tireless effort of so many wonderful campaigners has firmly put menopause on the political agenda.
‘While there have been some major successes, such as the cut to HRT prescription costs, we still have many hurdles to tackle to ensure women suffering through menopause get the support they deserve.
‘Day-in-day-out I hear stories from women who can’t get a diagnosis from their GP, who can’t get HRT due to a lack of supply, who have left their jobs due to a lack of support, or who simply don’t know where to turn for help.
‘With an election expected next year, we are calling for all political parties to commit to these reforms in their own election manifestos and change the way menopause is treated by the next Government.
‘This can’t go on and the time for action is now.’
It comes as new research shows nearly a quarter of women have considered quitting their jobs due to the impact of menopause symptoms at work.
Results from a survey of 2,000 women in the UK, carried out by Simplyhealth, found the workforce could lose millions of female employees unless more is done to support women.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
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