Some parts of the country emit THREE times more HRT than others –

The UK postcode lottery for menopausal women seeking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was announced today.

NHS data reviewed by MailOnline shows that some parts of the country are four times more likely to prescribe gels, patches and pills than others.

2.2% of patients in Southport and Formby in Merseyside were taking their medication in 2020, compared to only 0.53% in Leicester City.

Inequality stems from growing demand and the constant shortage of HRT, which has driven desperate women to the black market.

All of the top-rated HRT regions include rural and affluent areas such as Gloucestershire, Dorset, Cornwall and Surrey. Conversely, underperforming results tended to be found in urban centers such as London and Manchester.

Demand for HRT has skyrocketed over the past five years due to increased awareness and reduced stigma associated with menopause.

The latest NHS data show 3.2 million prescriptions for hormone replacement therapy drugs were issued in 2020, an increase of almost 40% from four years ago.

This strong demand has outstripped supply, creating shortages of some of the most popular forms of therapy, and this problem has been exacerbated by the pandemic.

About 1.5 million women experience menopausal symptoms each year, such as hot flashes, night sweats, anxiety, decreased sex drive, and memory problems that affect all areas of their lives.

HRT can help relieve these symptoms as women enter menopause, but only some get treatment.

NHS prescribing data from England’s 106 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) shows that women in suburbs and popular retirement destinations are more likely to be prescribed hormone replacement therapy.

Popular coastal areas such as Dorset and Devon were HRT hotspots with prescription rates of 1.89% and 1.88%, respectively.

Meanwhile, North West London and North Central London posted rates of 0.76 and 0.87 percent respectively, meaning a total of three of the capital’s GCCs were in the last 10 of the year in England.

Commenting on the data, Dr. Haitham Hamoda, president of the British Menopause Society, said the difference in prescription rates could be largely due to demographic differences.

“Areas where women over 40 live more are likely to have higher prescription rates than areas with younger population characteristics,” he said.

However, she added that some women struggling with mesopause experience artificial barriers to taking HRT.

“However, we do know that making doctor appointments and paying for HRT can be a barrier to accessing support for some women,” she said.

“This is why we support lower costs and longer prescription cycles for HRT.”

Women in their 50s received the lion’s share of HRT with 1.7 million prescriptions in 2020, followed by women in their forties with 600,000 prescriptions and women in their 60s with 500,000 prescriptions.

The total cost of these arrangements to the NHS was £45m.

NHS England provided HRT prescribing data based on the entire region’s population, not just women.

While the data only covers 2020, the first year of the pandemic, ministers had to acknowledge this month that women still have to deal with a zip code draw for HRT, and some doctors don’t even realize they can prescribe medication.

Minister for Patient Safety and Primary Care, Maria Caulfield, told MPs on the Commons Committee on Women and Equality that the standards were “somewhat inconsistent” and that patients in different parts of the country were given a “very different service.”

Supply chain issues and the lack of essential components have made it difficult for patients needing HRT to access it.

Some primary care physicians are unaware of the deficiencies, which means they continue to prescribe HRT to their patients who simply go to the pharmacy and are told it is out of stock.

Women need to change their medication for HRT, which can sometimes cause symptoms to return as the body gets used to the new medication.

HRT is a treatment that helps relieve menopausal symptoms, but women in the UK have irregular experiences going through menopause.

Current guidelines allow doctors to prescribe HRT for a year with a single prescription, fueling the continued shortage of supply that leads to black market trafficking.

Earlier this month, it emerged that some menopausal women affected by the deficiency were charged up to £50 for a single bottle online, or that prescriptions for others were exchanged on social media.

A new system, expected to be introduced next year, would allow a woman to pay a one-time annual fee and take HRT each month without seeing her GP.

Some types of HRT slightly increase the risk of breast cancer and blood clots in some women, but the NHS says the risks are small and generally do not outweigh the benefits.