Women has reportedly been left feeling suicidal due to a shortage of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) which is used to treat debilitating symptoms of the menopause.
It comes as many women have admitted sharing their prescriptions, trading it in car parks and buying it from abroad, as the lack of available medication is said to have left them feeling 'desperate.'
The Health Secretary has now announced he intends to appoint a hormone replacement therapy tsar, as he told the Mail on Sunday he was "determined" to make sure supplies were meeting the high demand.
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Recent figures suggest the number of HRT prescriptions in the UK has more doubled in the last five years but stocks are running low, with one manufacturer of a commonly-used hormone replacement gel reporting supply problems.
"I will be urgently convening a meeting with suppliers to look at ways we can work together to improve supply in the short and long term," said Sajid Javid. "It's also clear to me that we need to apply some of the lessons from the vaccine taskforce to this challenge, so we will soon be recruiting for an HRT supply chairperson."
Ministers have blamed increased demand and Covid-related global supply problems for the shortages. But Labour MP Carolyn Harris, who co-chairs the UK menopause taskforce, said the Department of Health had to take responsibility.
She told the BBC that "women take their own lives out of the anger and the frustration and the insecurity and anxiety" they suffer from being without the medication.
"I welcome the Secretary of State’s intervention on this. There are a lot of women relying on him to improve the current situation. We should never have been in this position," she added.
In October last year, the government committed to lowering the cost of HRT - with women being allowed to save £205 each year by avoiding paying for repeat prescriptions. But the change will not come in until April 2023.
If you've been affected by a shortage of hormone replacement therapy and would like to speak about your experience, contact sophie.halle-richards@reachplc.com.
Hormone therapy helps to combat menopausal symptoms, which include anxiety, joint pain, disturbed sleep and hot flushes. Jo McEwan, from menopause training company PositivePause, which provides support to women and organisations, welcomed the announcement of a HRT tsar.
She said: "What’s happened is the supply can’t keep up with the demand now, clearly. But this isn’t the first time it’s happened so I think, yes, let’s make somebody accountable or get someone whose got that authority to say ‘right, let’s get the big picture on this, let’s talk to the stakeholders, let’s talk to the pharma companies, and let’s ensure that women are not, as you say, trading HRT in car parks and buying it from abroad."
The shortages come after months of campaigning for greater awareness and increased support for those going through the menopause.
Among the voices were TV presenter and model Penny Lancaster, who is married to Sir Rod Stewart, as well as Davina McCall, who both joined MPs outside parliament to protest against prescription charges for HRT in October 2021.
