A new yearly prescription for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to help women with menopause symptoms has launched, and is already proving popular. 37,700 prescriptions were purchased in the first few days of the launch.
Anyone who needs HRT to help with menopause symptoms can now purchase a prescription costing £19.30, which lasts for 12 months. This yearly cost is the equivalent of paying for two items on a monthly prescription.
This prescription is known as a HRT Prescription Prepayment Certificate (HRT PPC).
The HRT PPC can be used to purchase as many menopause prescription items that are needed monthly, and throughout the year. These items include tablets, gels and patches. A full list of HRT prescription items can be found on the NHS website.
The aim of this new HRT PPC is to make menopause support more readily available to everyone who needs it. As well as making HRT more accessible and reducing the cost for those who need it. It is thought that around 400,000 women could benefit from this new HRT PPC.
How to get your HRT PPC:
Online on the NHSBSA website
In person at some pharmacies.
Over the phone with NHSBSA - 0300 330 2089.
If you’re deaf or hard of hearing, you will be able to use the textphone (or minicom) to contact the NHSBSA using the text relay service, from 25 May 2023. Dial 18001 then the relevant phone number.
The NHSBSA offers a telephone translation service and can provide documents in large print or Braille on request.
What to do before getting the HRT PCC:
Women should check whether they are already entitled to free NHS prescriptions generally (by age or because they have a certain medical condition) using the eligibility checker on the NHSBSA website.
Women should check if their prescribed type of HRT is eligible to be covered by the HRT PPC (testosterone, for example, sometimes prescribed for certain symptoms, is not.)
Women should consider whether a 3 or 12-month general PPC covering all types of medication, including HRT, is more cost-effective, especially if they're being treated for long-term conditions as well as menopausal symptoms.
While the HRT PPC is welcome and long overdue, here at Healthwatch Wokingham Borough we know that women also face other access barriers such as getting a GP appointment in the first instance, having their symptoms taken seriously by clinicians, or being certain that their local pharmacy will have consistent supplies of HRT.
We want to hear your views, stories and experiences around this, to help drive change around women's health, so contact us here.