Women’s health ministry 'needed in the wake of shortage of HRT'

'We needed a women’s health minister yesterday,' said Independent TD Verona Murphy. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Ireland needs a junior minister for women’s health to tackle shortages of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products, Independent TD Verona Murphy has said.

Her call comes in the wake of the creation of a HRT tsar role in Britain following reports that shortages of the products have become so severe that women are sharing prescriptions and, in some cases, reporting feelings of mental health distress.

Women in Ireland have faced shortages of HRT products for months, with common products off the shelf until at least July.

Ms Murphy said she has been “inundated” with women contacting her since raising the crisis in the Dáil earlier this month.

“We needed a women’s health minister yesterday,” said Ms Murphy. 

The recent discussions that Joe Duffy had in relation to menopause [showed] we shouldn’t be embarrassed about our health.

“I do believe we certainly should have, at the very least, a junior ministry.”

She described some of the messages she had received as “very distressing”.

“Many of the emails that I got said the HRT was life-saving, and the thoughts of not being able to access the correct HRT was absolutely putting them into a complete mental health state of disarray,” she said.

It is 'impossible to predict which products may become unavailable in the future,' according to Dr Ciara McCarthy, clinical lead on women's health with the ICGP.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said the Women’s Health Taskforce is “considering all proposals for the improvement of women’s health outcomes and experiences”.

She pointed to the increasing demand for HRT, with demand for one set of products, which she did not name, expected to be between 4.5 and 7.5 times higher this year than in 2019.

Ciara McCarthy, clinical lead on women’s health with the Irish College of General Practitioners, said shortages have gone on for two years. Dr McCarthy said: 

GPs are working to the best of their abilities to commence HRT prescriptions based on the currently available products. 

“However, it is impossible to predict which products may become unavailable in the future.”

She warned that women who abruptly stop using HRT see a rapid return of symptoms, and advised women who cannot find their prescribed product to return to their GP for solutions.

British health secretary Sajid Javid said on Sunday he will appoint a “HRT supply chairperson” to meet suppliers following the vaccine taskforce model developed during the pandemic.