Major victory for the Mail’s HRT campaign as pharmacists given green light to prescribe alternatives

The Daily Mail’s HRT campaign has scored a major victory after pharmacists were given the green light to prescribe alternatives to out-of-stock treatments.

Until now, women were forced to return to their GP if pharmacies ran out of medicines.

This led to widespread stress and concern as tens of thousands of people were affected by shortages of popular products, especially Estrogel.

The Mail’s campaign to solve the HRT crisis has called for pharmacists to be given the power to dispense substitutes if prescribed HRT is out of stock. Other demands in the manifesto included fighting the postcode lottery of available treatments. Following the demand for action, last night the government published a Severe Shortage Protocol (SSP), giving pharmacists the flexibility to offer women substitutes for the treatment in demand. Those unable to obtain Oestrogel, Ovestin cream, Lenzetto transdermal spray and Sandrena gel sachets will immediately be offered a substitute, reducing unnecessary delays.

The NHS England guidelines also make it clear that prescribers will not be restricted by forms – or lists – of approved HRT products, nor will they be prevented from dispensing a wider range of treatments.

Meanwhile, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has confirmed that pharmacies have the ability to share medicines, where appropriate, to help tackle shortages. Activists described the news as a ‘game changer’ – but warned more needed to be done to avoid future HRT chaos.

The Government’s HRT czar, Madelaine McTernan, told the Mail last night: ‘I have discussed a series of actions with suppliers who are working very hard to increase stock in the UK.

“After very constructive discussions, we have also given pharmacists the option of substituting certain products if the prescribed product is not available.

“This is an additional measure to ensure access to the right products – and for anyone who has any questions or concerns, I urge you to speak to your GP or pharmacist.” Katie Taylor, of online menopause support group The Latte Lounge, said: “While this is good news, it is still just a band-aid to help tackle the immediate problem of oil shortages. supply.”

“What we really want is for future supply planning to take into account that, with so many of us campaigning for better education and awareness, supply will comfortably meet demand and we will not we will never find ourselves in this position again.”

Jane Pangbourne, founder of the HRT Truth Collective, said: “This is a game changer for women, doctors and pharmacists. The time and stress for women going back and forth to doctors trying to access available HRT will be cut, pharmacists will be able to help their customers more efficiently and the time of GPs and the NHS will be allocated more wisely .

Yesterday’s PSP is the second issued by the government in response to the crisis. Last month, ministers announced they were rationing some HRT products to a three-month supply in a bid to tackle shortages. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the government was taking “decisive action” to ensure women “have access to the medicines they need”.

There has been a sharp increase in the number of women seeking HRT, with around 538,000 prescriptions issued in December, up from 238,000 in January 2017. Prescriptions for Oestrogel, which is used by around 30,000 people in the UK, have increased dramatically.

Labor MP Carolyn Harris, co-chair of the UK Menopause Task Force, said: ‘I am very pleased the government has taken a common sense approach… but this can only be the start of the journey.