Tina Backhouse on the inequality in UK menopause support and HRT supply

This time on the podcast my guest is Tina Backhouse, General Manager at Theramex. Tina joined Theramex in 2020 to lead the UK Women’s Health business, helping to establish them as the largest supplier of HRT & Menopause Products in the UK. She is passionate about ensuring equality of care for all women regarding their health in the UK, and that women have choice in their healthcare options.   She joins us to discuss the recent research the company funded to investigate disparities in access to menopause support: for example, just 5% of black women are on HRT vs 20% of white women, and individuals in areas of social deprivation are significantly less likely to be prescribed the newer, safer forms of HRT.    We also cover some of Tina’s ongoing frustrations at the lack of prioritization and funding available for women’s healthcare - such as the fact that NHS England developed a public health campaign for menopause that was never launched due to lack of funding.   Would it surprise you to know that the UK currently has the largest gender health gap in the G20? We also have a staggering 35% gender pension gap. The report, published in April 2024 interviewed a range of clinicians and allied healthcare professionals, and is available to download at:  https://www.theramex.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Theramex_Tackling-Unequal-Access-to-Menopause-Care.pdf - we discuss the five recommendations that the report concludes with, including better training for GPs and other allied healthcare professionals, and the creation of a national formulary to end the current postcode lottery whereby some newer HRT is available in some areas but not others.   If you enjoy the podcast and would like to help me keep it running (on a shoestring!) please consider buying me a ‘virtual coffee’ at Ko-fi.com/middlingalong - or you can support me in a non-monetary way by sharing this episode, or writing a short review online!  If your workplace wants to become more ‘menopause friendly’ then please let them know about the work I do at http://www.managingthemenopause.com  You can also find me over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause   Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly(ish) goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share  We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/