Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to monitor the national availability of HRT.

There are over 70 hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products available in the United Kingdom and while most remain in good supply, factors including an increase in demand has led to supply issues with a limited number of products. We regularly engage with suppliers, the National Health Service and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to maintain overall supply, including expediting resupply dates of disrupted HRT products.

We have issued Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) on HRT products to ensure an even distribution and allow alternative products to be dispensed as necessary. Since April 2022, 17 SSPs for HRT products have been issued and seven remain in place as the supply of several products affected by short term supply issues has been resolved. We regularly communicate with the NHS on shortages and discontinuations, including HRT products currently affected by supply issues and via the Specialist Pharmacy Service Medicine Supply tool.