Pharmacists should be aware that it is not just their patients who experience menopause, it is an issue in the workplace too. As around 50% of the world’s population consists of women, even if some will not experience menopause themselves, there will be female colleagues who will do so at some point in their lives.
NAWP has long been raising the profile of women’s health issues for working pharmacists and has published several factsheets to assist employed and locum pharmacists as well as their employers. This includes a menopause factsheet that can be found here.
NAWP, therefore, welcomes the news that the largest employer of pharmacists in the UK, Boots, has announced that it will provide additional support for pharmacists and other team members who need Hormone Replacement Treatment (HRT). Boots is supporting team members experiencing menopausal symptoms by removing the barrier of prescription costs, an initiative that could help them save individuals up to £224 per year.
Around 80% of Boots’ 51,000 employees are women and around 8,600 Boots team members are currently in scope to access HRT which helps relieve the symptoms of menopause. From April 2022, Boots will cover the cost of its team members’ prescriptions for those able and wanting to take HRT.
Prescriptions are free of charge in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, but most Boots team members are faced with a prescription charge from NHS England, so this will be an added benefit of working at Boots.
Daniela Rusalim, Vice-President of NAWP and a pharmacist employed at Boots said, “This is a very welcome announcement of additional support from Boots for a health issue that impacts women at work. NAWP and the wider PDA are always pleased to give credit where it is due and welcome this initiative. We also welcome Boots stated aim to become a menopause-friendly employer.
The pharmacist profession is two-thirds female and NAWP would like to see other employers in the UK introduce similar support for their employees.”
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