Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to support women suffering side-effects from hormone replacement therapy.

Nicola Blackwood

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is used to alleviate the symptoms of the menopause. The known side effects of HRT products are provided in the patient information leaflet which accompanies the medicine. Medically serious side effects of HRT affect a small number of women and include increased risks of breast and ovarian cancer and blood clots (venous thromboembolism, VTE), which are treated in clinical practice if they occur.

Due to these risks the advice since 2004 is that decision to start, continue or stop HRT should be made jointly by a woman and her doctor, based on the known risks and benefits and her own personal circumstances, including her age, her need for treatment and her medical risk factors, and that the lowest effective dose of HRT should be used for the shortest possible time with regular review of treatment.

The National Health Service publishes information online at NHS Choices about the menopause including the benefits and risks of HRT and alternative treatments.