Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) alleviate shortages of Hormone replacement therapy products and associated medicines and (b) support patients to access treatments.

There are over 70 hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products available in the UK and while most remain in good supply, a range of factors including an increase in demand has led to supply issues with a limited number of products.

We are working with suppliers and other stakeholders such as the NHS and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to maintain overall HRT supply to patients across the UK, including working to expedite resupply dates of the disrupted HRT products to resolve issues as soon as possible and to help fill supply gaps and prevent future shortages.

Access to in-demand products has improved since we issued Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) on HRT products to limit dispensing to three months’ supply to even out distribution and allow alternative products to be dispensed, as necessary. 19 SSP’s for HRT products have been issued since April 2022, and a much smaller number of SSP’s remain in place as the supply position of several products affected by short term supply issues have been resolved.

We regularly share communications about shortages and discontinuations with the NHS and have issued a number of communications about HRT supply issues to date. We continue to hold quarterly HRT roundtables with manufacturers, wholesalers, and community pharmacists to discuss the current and future supply of HRT. This is in addition to more regular meetings we hold with suppliers, on an individual basis, to identify and manage any issues.