The Explainer
2 Apr 2025
What’s happening with the rollout of free HRT?
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Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is a vital treatment for many women navigating perimenopause and menopause. In recent years, public understanding of menopause and its complex symptoms has improved dramatically, as have the treatments available to women — so too has access to that HRT, with more GPs and menopause clinics offering personalised plans to women across the country. Last year, the government announced plans for a free HRT scheme in the Budget, but pharmacists weren’t happy and now both are locked in a battle of wills over how it should all work. This has left thousands of women feeling frustrated and forgotten, as people recently told The Journal in a Your Stories feature. To explore what's happening, we're joined by Dr Caoimhe Hartley, clinical lead of the Complex Menopause Clinic in the Rotunda Hospital.