Estradot patches may be unavailable until January as UK HRT shortages affect products—which ones?

HRT products in short supply

HRT usually replaces oestrogen and progestogen levels that decline during menopause. The hormones may be taken separately or together, while women who have had a hysterectomy require only oestrogen-containing HRT.

Choosing an alternative treatment

Sobia Qasim, a pharmacist at the online pharmacy Curely, said an unavailable treatment can be unsettling when it has helped someone sleep, manage hot flushes and feel more like themselves. She cautioned that some specialised HRT products cannot readily be replaced.

Paula Briggs, a consultant in sexual and reproductive health and former chair of the British Menopause Society, said maintaining the same estradiol dose was important. She said different progestogens were unlikely to affect symptom control, explaining that progestogens protect the womb lining rather than treat symptoms.

Calls for supply-chain action

Shahid called on the government to respond to the shortages. She said the new secretary of state should bring together all parts of the supply chain in a taskforce to understand the problem fully.