Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the reasons for trends in the level of demand for hormone replacement therapy medication.

No specific assessment on trends has been made. The demand for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been increasing over time. Total use of HRT across the four main product categories (orals, gels, patches and pessaries) has increased to nearly 800,000 patients each month, and the rate of increase has accelerated post-lockdown. Since the end of the last lockdown, nearly two years ago, monthly patient numbers in these categories have more than doubled (108% increase).

The increase in demand for HRT is likely to be due to a range of factors, including media and parliamentary campaigning, increased public awareness, and Government interventions aimed at improving access to menopause care and HRT. This includes the introduction of the HRT prescription prepayment certificate (PPC) to improve access to HRT. It enables women to pay a one-off charge equivalent to two single prescription charges, currently £19.30, for all listed HRT prescriptions for a year. Between the launch on 1 April and 14 June, there were 253,445 applications for the HRT PPC.

Menopause is a priority within the Women’s Health Strategy and the Government and National Health Service are implementing a programme of work to improve access to menopause care so that all women can access the support they need, including HRT.