Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on tackling hormonal replacement therapy shortages.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We have accepted and are taking forward the recommendations of the HRT Supply Taskforce, which was temporarily established to explore what could be done to address hormone replacement therapy (HRT) supply issues in the short and long-term. A key recommendation was to continue the dialogue with industry and we are doing that through regular meetings with individual suppliers as well as holding quarterly roundtables with manufacturers, wholesalers and community pharmacist representatives to monitor progress and agree what more needs to be done to boost production.
Access to high-demand products has improved since actions have been taken by industry with our support, as well as the issuance of Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) for some HRT products facing supply issues, to limit dispensing to three months’ supply to even out distribution and allow specified alternative products to be supplied, as necessary.
21 SSPs for HRT products have been issued since April 2022. The majority of these have been withdrawn as supply issues have been resolved, and only five SSPs remain in place.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the menopause taskforce last met.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Menopause Taskforce last met on 7 June 2022.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether menopausal and perimenopausal symptoms and their management are covered in the NHS Health Check.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Menopausal and perimenopausal symptoms and their management are not currently covered in the NHS Health Check.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will outline the timetable for the next meeting of the Maternal Disparities Taskforce.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Maternity Disparities Taskforce was established in February 2022, to tackle disparities for mothers and babies and reduce maternal and neonatal deaths. The Taskforce brings together experts from across the health system, Government departments and the voluntary sector to explore and consider evidence-based interventions to tackle maternal disparities. The Taskforce will be meeting again shortly.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Maternity Disparities Taskforce last met.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Maternal Disparities Taskforce was established in February 2022, to tackle disparities for mothers and babies by improving access to effective pre-conception and maternity care for women from ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas. The Taskforce has so far met three times with the third meeting taking place on 18 July 2022. A date for the next Taskforce meeting will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how often the Maternity Disparities Taskforce meets.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Maternal Disparities Taskforce was established in February 2022, to tackle disparities for mothers and babies by improving access to effective pre-conception and maternity care for women from ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas. The Taskforce has so far met three times with the third meeting taking place on 18 July 2022. A date for the next Taskforce meeting will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to collect data on the availability of hormonal replacement therapy products (a) with and (b) without serious shortage protocols.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We are working with suppliers of hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) to collect data on the availability of their products.
We are also working to improve access to demand data, including prescriptions and dispensing from the NHS Business Service Authority. This is being used to monitor whether there are shortfalls between HRT packs prescribed and HRT packs supplied by manufacturers.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2022 to Question 104415 on Hormone Replacement Therapy: Shortages, for what reason some serious shortage protocols have been extended into 2023.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
In 2022, 17 Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) were issued to mitigate supply issues affecting hormone replacement therapy (HRT) medicines. SSPs can be extended or withdrawn to take account of changing supply situations and 10 of these SSPs have subsequently been withdrawn due to improvements in supply. As the industry ensures there is a long-term, sustainable supply of HRT products to meet demand, we are taking precautionary action by extending some SSPs to improve availability of products still affected by supply issues.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the availability of Estradiol Sandrena gel sachets in each region.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
There are over 70 hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products available in the United Kingdom and while most remain in good supply, a range of factors including an increase in demand has led to issues with a limited number of products.
There are currently Serious Shortage Protocols (SSP) in place for Sandrena gel, Lenzetto spray and Estraderm MX 75 microgram patches. We are aware of ongoing supply issues with these products and have extended the SSP
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the availability of Estradiol Lenzetto spray in each region.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
There are over 70 hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products available in the United Kingdom and while most remain in good supply, a range of factors including an increase in demand has led to issues with a limited number of products.
There are currently Serious Shortage Protocols (SSP) in place for Sandrena gel, Lenzetto spray and Estraderm MX 75 microgram patches. We are aware of ongoing supply issues with these products and have extended the SSP