Ongoing HRT and contraceptive shortages 'harming' women and could lead to rise in abortions, warn gynaecologists

‘Thousands of women and girls have been adversely affected by this and they deserve better,’ says Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

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Nationwide shortages of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and contraceptives are “harming” women and could lead to a rise in unplanned pregnancies and abortions, experts have warned.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), The British Menopause Society and The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare have written to the secretary of state for health and social care, Matt Hancock, calling for a group to be set up to address ongoing supply constraints.

The RCOG states that women across the UK have been unable to access HRT, which is used to alleviate symptoms of menopause, for the last year due to manufacturing and supply issues.

More recently, the health organisation says it has become aware of contraceptive shortages that are affecting the physical and mental health of women and girls across the country.

“We are concerned this situation may lead to a rise in unplanned pregnancies and abortions, whilst inadvertently affecting the most vulnerable in our society,” the RCOG added in a statement.

Dr Edward Morris, president of the RCOG, said that supply issues with HRT should improve in the coming weeks “as the range of products which supply 70 per cent of the HRT patch market will be re-introduced to the UK market”.

However, Dr Morris added that a number of HRT medications and contraceptives remain unavailable until the end of this year, and that there is no indication of when they will be back on the market.

“While we are grateful to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) for working closely with suppliers to re-introduce some of these products to the market, it remains unclear why there is a shortage in the first place or when the normal supply of the products might resume,” he continued.

“The lack of transparency around why these shortages have occurred is extremely frustrating.

“Thousands of women and girls have been adversely affected by this ongoing situation and they deserve better. We are calling on the DHSC to set up a working group with industry, regulatory agencies and our organisations to get to the root of why shortages in both HRT and contraceptives have occurred.

“This working group must work together to ensure that this situation is prevented from happening again.”

Dr Asha Kasliwal, president of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH), agreed the situation is concerning.

“We are aware that women are sent away with prescriptions for unavailable products and end up lost in a system that is frustrating to navigate.

"This is causing utter chaos for patients, clinicians and pharmacists,” she said.

She also pointed out that for some contraceptive methods alternatives do not exist when they run out. This includes self-injectable contraceptive Sayana Press.

“Women who use Sayana Press now have to see a healthcare professional to access a non-self-injectable alternative, which is undoubtedly an extra burden for them, increasing demand in busy GP practices and sexual and reproductive healthcare clinics,” she added.

“At the moment, the resupply date for Sayana Press is unknown.”