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 increase the supply of HRT patches; and whether stock levels of HRT patches have been affected by uncertainty over the UK's departure from the EU.

The Department fully understands that maintaining access to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) medications is vitally important to many people in this country.

We are aware of ongoing supply issues with some HRT transdermal patches due to manufacturing issues. We have been working closely with all suppliers of HRT transdermal patches to maintain overall supply to patients. Although some HRT transdermal patches are affected by supply issues, supplies of other alternative HRT transdermal patches have remained available.

We continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure relevant information about the HRT products affected by supply issues and the products that remain available is shared across the National Health Service on a regular basis. We have already issued comprehensive communications to the NHS with regard to availability and signposted clinicians to sources they can use to support local decision making around switching patients who are affected by the current supply disruptions.

We will continue to work directly with all suppliers of the affected and alternative products to resolve the supply issues as soon as possible and ensure supplies of HRT products including transdermal patches continue to remain available.

There is no evidence that the small number of current HRT supply issues we are managing are related to EU exit or increasing because of this.