Half a million women in England have benefitted from a scheme that makes hormone replacement therapy (HRT) cheaper to access.
Launched in April last year, the HRT prescription prepayment certificates (PPC) – which cost £19.30 per year – have saved those with menopause symptoms more than £11 million, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has said.
The certificate was created to address inequalities highlighted in the 2022 Women’s Health Strategy.
Minister for the women’s health strategy Maria Caulfield said: ‘Every woman is different and so it’s essential we make sure all women can access the right medication that works for them.
‘Many women often need to try a few different types of HRT to get the right medication that works for them. By reducing the price of HRT to under £20 for a year’s supply, we’ve made it more equitable for women to go on living their normal lives.’
It comes after the Government last week announced its priorities for women’s health in 2024.
Speaking at the Women’s Health Summit yesterday (17 January), health secretary Victoria Atkins said improving maternity care and supporting victims of domestic and sexual abuse are among the top priorities, alongside ‘fairer, comprehensive care’ for menstrual problems, menopause and conditions such as endometriosis.
This week NHS England renewed calls to ensure young people and parents of 12 and 13-year-olds to ensure they consent to having the HPV vaccine, after new data indicated one-in-six girls and one-in-five boys are not fully vaccinated by year 10.
The data, published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), showed that although uptake had risen slightly in 2022/23 among boys and girls in year 8 compared to the year before, it had dropped among those in year 9 and 10.
And a study by Public Health Scotland found that there have been no cases of cervical cancer in women in Scotland who have been fully vaccinated against HPV.
