A surge in demand for overstretched HRT supplies is “inevitable” after Davina McCall’s latest documentary put the menopause back into the spotlight. Demand for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) increased almost overnight following Ms McCall’s first programme about the menopause, Davina McCall: Sex, Mind and Myths, aired on Channel 4 in May 2021.
Figures from Open Prescribing show there were 382,632 prescriptions for female sex hormones and their modulators issued in England that month, but prescriptions then increased by 13% in June, to 432,826. These prescriptions include HRT and a range of other hormone treatments.
Demand continued to rise in the months immediately following the documentary, peaking at 537,986 prescriptions in December - a 41% increase on the monthly count of prescriptions before the original documentary was shown. Now, after Ms McCall’s follow-up documentary - Davina McCall: Sex, Mind and the Menopause - aired on Monday, campaigners are expecting a new surge in demand for supplies, as many women are expected to seek HRT from their GPs for the first time.
