Menopause campaigners gathered together at the House of Lords on 18 October for a breakfast reception in aid of World Menopause Day, in partnership with HELLO!.
Presenter Mariella Frostrup and Carolyn Harris MP announced the All-Party Parliamentary Group’s Manifesto for Menopause at the event, backed by Menopause Mandate.
Two years ago, the APPG launched an inquiry into the impacts of menopause on women, families and society, and the result is the Manifesto for Menopause, which features seven key reforms needed in our healthcare system.
These range from improving menopause diagnosis and treatment, to mandating large companies to introduce menopause action plans to support female employees experiencing menopause. The manifesto is also calling for menopause and peri-menopause in the free NHS health check for women over 40s.
In addition, Menopause Mandate is launching their new campaign MM40+ demanding that menopause be included in the over 40s health check.
© James RobinsonMenopause Mandate chair Mariella Frostrup said: “We are finally emerging form the dark ages, in that you can now say ‘menopause’ without people’s faces transforming into a version of Edvard Munch’s The Scream. Achieving these seven points would go a long way to improving things and further normalizing the situation.”
She added: “The long-term goal is a trained menopause specialist in every GP surgery. Only 26% said that they knew there to be a clinician specialising in menopause at their surgery – this total needs to be 100% - while a depressing 37% were offered antidepressants.”
© HELLO!Carolyn Harris MP and APPG chair told HELLO! that she believes women should know about menopause symptoms before age 40, but if by that age you’ve not spoken to a medical professional, you should at least know of the symptoms.
“So many women are being diagnosed with depression, insomnia, fibromyalgia,” she explained, “They've been prescribed medication for symptoms, which are one part of the menopause, but they're not being treated for the menopause. I think it's really important.”
© James RobinsonFormer Olympic triple jumper and The Menopause Charity ambassador Michelle Griffith-Robinson told us: “Health checks for women over 40 will be an absolute game changer. Straight away women can start to see what's happening to their bodies, so by the time they get a decade older, they are now more equipped - they're not starting on the back foot.”
© James RobinsonHELLO! creative brand ambassador, Rosie Nixon said: “I think it's essential that these provisions are taken up within our healthcare system. It seems quite unbelievable that it is so difficult still for women of perimenopause and menopause age to seek the help that they need. I hope that all parties pick this up and we start to see some really meaningful and tangible change.”
HELLO! and Wellbeing of Women have created the Menopause Workplace Pledge, a drive to see women going through perimenopause and menopause better supported in the workplace. To date we have almost 3000 UK companies signed up to take positive action.
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