World Menopause Day marked by MPs

Politicians of all parties have marked World Menopause Day with a debate at Westminster.

The debate, proposed by East Lothian MP Martin Whitfield, looked at awareness and the provision of support for women experiencing the menopause.

Motherwell & Wishaw MP Marion Fellows read from Holyrood editor Mandy Rhodes’s column on her own experiences.

Few health boards in Scotland have a specialist menopause clinic, while GPs rarely have mandatory training on how to support women experiencing it.

Fellows said the menopause can have a psychological and physical impact on women, which is why it is vital health professionals “take them seriously”.

Whitfield said men should “show some solidarity” and “break the taboo” of talking about the menopause with their loved ones.

“I ask every man in this place, I ask every man who’s watching on, I ask every man in the United Kingdom and just ask men to be brave enough, to have the guts, to go, ‘can you tell me, can you explain, will you please share’,” he said.

Conservative MP Rachel Maclean said a Tory colleague had asked her if she “was having a hot flush dear” in the voting lobbies.

“That was said to me, to my face and doesn’t that illustrate how we need to raise awareness?” she said.

In Scotland Labour have called for better access to support and specialist care by the NHS.

Scottish Labour's health spokesperson, Monica Lennon wrote to health secretary Jeane Freeman asking for an update on provision.

“Only five health boards in Scotland offer a dedicated menopause clinic - Fife, Grampian, Lothian, Tayside and Dumfries and Galloway - and it’s unclear what support exists in the rest of the country,” she said.

“The cross party group on Women’s Health that I lead in Parliament held a menopause event where issues around stigma, lack of support from employers and inconsistent advice and support from health services were raised.”