Welsh MP calls for menopause specific health check for all women

A Welsh MP and a key campaigner for greater access to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has urged the Government to commit to a ‘menopause specific health check for all women’.

Carolyn Harris, Labour MP for Swansea East and chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Menopause, told the Commons “lack of information about symptoms is a recognised barrier to diagnosis”.

She went on: “More resource, training and awareness is urgently needed. So, will the Government listen to the recommendations of the APPG and commit to a menopause specific health check for all women?”

Lack of awareness

Health minister Maria Caulfield replied: “There is a lack of awareness and through her campaign, and the campaign of many others, awareness is increasing.

“That’s why we’re seeing a significant rise in the number of women being prescribed HRT but, of course, there is more work to be done.”

Ms Caulfield said she is “looking through” the recommendations from her report.

Ms Harris, the Deputy Leader of Welsh Labour, formed the new All-Party Parliamentary Group on Menopause last year.

She is a long-time campaigner for better conditions and recognition of the challenges women in menopause face, as well as tackling the current shortages of HRT and advocating for the reduction in HRT prescription costs.

Recent research suggests that the UK could lose 14 million workdays a year due to menopause related issues and one in four women who experience menopausal symptoms consider leaving their job.

Campaigners suggest that medical sexism and a lack of training means that many women get no help for symptoms, which can include depression, anxiety, insomnia and brain fog, as well as hot flushes.