FSRH, BMS and RCOG joint response to the APPG on Menopause Inquiry – Assessing the impacts of menopause and the case for policy reform

The Royal College of Obstetricians, the British Menopause Society and the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare welcome the opportunity to jointly respond to the APPG Menopause Inquiry – Assessing the impacts of menopause and the case for policy reform.

In our response we focused on the considerable impact that the menopause can have on women’s lives and the actions necessary for the Government to take. We encourage the Government to be ambitious, to seize the opportunities posed by the upcoming Women’ Health Strategy, to create a joined-up life-course strategy for women’s healthcare with menopause and post- reproductive healthcare making up a key part of the strategy.

Key recommendations for Government action

• A commitment to funding evidence-led campaigns and projects that aim to reduce stigma around the menopause.
• Investment in ensuring the NHS website has comprehensive, up-to-date and evidence-based information and resources around menopause should be prioritised, and should make up part of a women’s health information ‘hub’ on the NHS website. This should include a comprehensive list of all symptoms associated with the menopause.
• Set out an approach to provide clear, objective information about the benefits and risks of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) as they are known at the present time, and to reduce misinformation around treatment.
• Ensure that healthcare professionals across the system have the right level of knowledge, as well as adequate capacity, to ensure individual women can access timely care. This should include one professional in every GP practice with specialist interest in menopause care.
• Implement a simple health check for all women at the age of 45 within primary care, to ensure all women engage with the health system as they experience the menopause.
• Prioritisation of research into the menopause and post reproductive healthcare, as well as a more joined-up approach to collecting and using data around the menopause to improve care.
• NHSE/I should undertake a mapping exercise to understand demand for specialist menopause care, and newly formed ICSs should ensure adequate specialist menopause care is commissioned in their area, in order to meet population need.
• There needs to be an increased awareness and understanding of menopause in the workplace. Mandatory workplace policies should be introduced, detailing guidance and training for all staff, as well as reasonable adjustments that should be available to support women to work as effectively as possible throughout their menopause.

You can read our response in full here.