COLLEGE of SEXUAL and REPRODUCTIVE HEALTHCARE
More than 4 in 5 women feel comfortable discussing menopause with their GP or healthcare professional, according to new findings welcomed by the College of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (CoSRH).
However, while 83% of women surveyed as part of Menopause Mandate’s Big Menopause Survey 2026 were offered hormone replacement therapy (HRT), CoSRH warns that progress in menopause care is being hampered by issues around timely access to the full range of treatment and support.
Hormonal coils (or intrauterine devices, IUDs) can be accessed through local sexual health services or GP surgeries when they are needed for contraception and usually take minutes to fit. But due to funding restrictions, women seeking a coil to manage perimenopausal symptoms are often passed between services before being referred to NHS gynaecology, where waits can be lengthy. More than three out of five (62%) of CoSRH members report that this is the case in their service.
Dr Zara Haider, President of CoSRH, said: “Hormonal coils are not only a fantastic form of contraception, they can be life-changing for women experiencing perimenopausal symptoms by providing the progestogen part of combined HRT. Yet access too often depends on where a woman lives, rather than the care she clinically needs.
“Local funding restrictions can limit which women clinicians are able to provide hormonal coils to, meaning those over 55 years old can be pushed into an already overstretched NHS gynaecology system.
“For a procedure that takes minutes, it makes absolutely no sense for women to face months or even years of waiting along with repeated appointments and hospital visits.”
CoSRH’s Why must women wait? campaign is calling for fairer, more consistent access to hormonal IUDs for women who need them for gynaecological and menopause-related care, as well as contraception.
The campaign highlights how access barriers can leave women waiting months on a gynaecology waiting list alongside 750,000 women for a procedure that can take minutes.
With 98.5% of women reporting that perimenopause symptoms affected their quality of life and 61% reporting a considerable or extreme impact, CoSRH is calling for action to ensure women can access the care they need.
This includes removing restrictions on access to hormonal IUDs, enabling seamless referral between services, investing in training and workforce capacity, making full use of trained professionals’ skills, and tackling inequalities in access and waiting times.
A wee reminder that Menopause Goals programme returns to Spartans Community Foundation this Thursday at 6pm.
Email jenniferpullen@spartanscf.com for more information.