All women should undergo a health check for menopausal symptoms at age 45, MPs said, while calling for menopause to be added to QOF.
In a report released today, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Menopause made 13 recommendations to the government, including “implementing a health check for all women at the age of 45 to help diagnose menopause at an earlier stage”. early”.
The group also called for menopause to be included in QOF “to improve the diagnosis and treatment of menopause.”
The report said: ‘Witnesses also suggested that a menopause indicator could be included within the GP Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) that tracks disease prevalence and rates of achievement of quality of care.
‘As an incentive and reward program for GPs, the inclusion of menopause in the QOF could significantly help
resource and reward good practice.’
GPs should also receive menopause training, the APPG said, though with the caveat that this should be for those who have not received it in the past.
The report said: “While it is welcome that a Medical Licensing Assessment is to be introduced for incoming doctors in 2024/25 and cover menopause, Health Education England and the RCGP need to consider how to equip existing healthcare professions to deliver the best possible menopause treatment. through
primary care, such as through Continuing Professional Development courses for existing GPs who
did not have the option to receive proper training in the past.
‘The RCP, RCPsych, RCN and RPS must also ensure that all of their physicians receive up-to-date menopause training to enable correct diagnosis and treatment of perimenopause and menopause.’
The full APPG recommendations
- Urgently remove HRT prescription costs in England, as is the case in all devolved nations;
- Implement a health check for all women at age 45 to help diagnose menopause at an earlier stage.
- Fund new research on the real benefits of HRT and the link between menopause and serious illness;
- Coordinate an employer-led campaign and improve targeting to drive support for menopause in the workplace;
- Create a National Formulary for HRT and include menopause in the GP Quality and Outcomes Framework to improve the diagnosis and treatment of menopause;
- Provide updated menopause training to GPs and other health professionals who did not receive it in the past, in addition to the upcoming medical screening for incoming physicians.
Font: PPG of menopause
Announcing the report, which follows a year-long investigation, APPG Menopause Chair Carolyn Harris said that taboo still prevails around menopause within the medical profession.
The Labor MP for Swansea East said: “We are starting to feel the tide of change, but the taboo around menopause is still prevalent in every corner of society – in workplaces, within families and between friends, in education and in the medical profession.
“The consequences for those suffering from menopausal symptoms and unable to receive proper treatment can be severe, leading to the breakdown of personal relationships and jeopardizing their careers, as women are forced to take days off. or leave the job altogether, putting their financial situations at risk.’
In the summer, the House of Commons Committee on Women and Equality recommended that GPs need mandatory menopause training and targeted communications around the HRT scheme.
This was also a recommendation made by the Government Women’s Health Strategy.
However, GPs have noted that the RCGP curriculum includes training in women’s health, and GPs assess this through the MRCGP exam.
Ms Harris said: “While the development of a women’s health strategy was an opportunity to revolutionize access to menopause support and treatment for all, in its current form it has failed to address the many issues facing women. in the United Kingdom”.
“Change is vital and we urge the new minister and government to give menopause the attention it deserves and carry forward the recommendations of our report for the good of women across the country.”
APPG reports are not official publications of the House of Commons or the House of Lords, and APPGs are informal groups of members of both houses with a common interest in particular issues.
A footnote to the report clarifies that the views expressed “are those of the group” and reveals that it was “investigated by DGA and funded by Bristol Myers Squibb and Astellas Pharma.”
Dr Margaret McCartney, a GP in Glasgow and an advocate of evidence-based medicine, said such a recommendation should come from the UK’s National Screening Committee rather than the APPG.
She told Pulse: ‘Women need independent, evidence-based information and advice.
The report says that “nearly everyone the APPG heard during the course of the inquiry agreed that screening women over a certain age through the NHS could help improve diagnosis and treatment of menopause at a later stage.” early”.
‘This is a truly terrible attempt at trying to run politics. Where is the evidence? The UKNSC should make decisions like this, everything has an opportunity cost and it can be a way of wasting money without giving women the help they need.’
The demands of the APPG arise when there was a 35% increase in the prescription of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) last year, according to a recent report from the NHS Business Services Authority. In total, almost half a million more women were prescribed at least one HRT medicine in 2021/22.
At the same time, pharmacies have faced severe shortages. A report from the government’s HRT task force in September said Estrogen supply had improved, but HRT products remained in short supply..
the Gina 10 micrograms vaginal tablets (estradiol)which is the first HRT treatment available without a prescription, was made available by Booths last month, before rolling out to independent pharmacies.
