A record number of women were prescribed hormone replacement therapy on the NHS last year, new figures reveal. The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) said two million women over the age of 40 received the treatment, known as HRT, in 2025/26. That is more than double the number of prescriptions in 2020/21, when 800,000 women were given HRT on the health service.
The figures also reveal huge disparities in prescribing locations, with less than one in 10 women from the most deprived areas receiving an HRT prescription compared to 14.2 per cent in the least deprived regions. Last year there were just four prescriptions per 100 women in Newham, east London – the lowest recorded figure – while in Brighton and Hove there were 23 prescriptions per 100 women.
HRT is prescribed to women to help treat menopausal symptoms and works by replacing the primary female sex hormones oestrogen and progesterone which decline during menopause. The health service says the therapy helps combat symptoms like hot flushes, night sweats and sleep problems, as well as mood swings, anxiety and vaginal dryness. But experts, including the Mail on Sunday’s columnist Dr Ellie Cannon, have also highlighted its potential risks in recent months.
A record number of women were prescribed hormone replacement therapy on the NHS last year, new figures reveal
Writing in the newspaper in November, Dr Ellie said: ‘It is true that there is a slightly increased risk of breast cancer among women who are taking HRT, in particular those who… take combined oestrogen and progesterone in any form.
‘In the UK, about 2 per cent of all breast cancer cases, equivalent to around 1,000 new diagnoses a year, are thought to be linked to HRT.’
Commenting on the new figures, Sue Mann, national clinical director in women’s health for NHS England, said: ‘Awareness of menopause has increased significantly in recent years, helping to encourage important conversations about women’s health and access to support.
‘The findings show that the number of women receiving NHS HRT prescribing continues to increase. This reflects the growing demand for menopause care and the increasing awareness of treatment options available to women.’
Olivier Picard, chairman of the National Pharmacy Association, added: ‘This is very significant data and shows that a record number of women are accessing HRT support through the NHS.
‘However, these surges in prescriptions for particular products do have unintended short-term consequences for medicine supply to patients and can exacerbate medicine shortages that blight pharmacies on a daily basis.
‘Although supply for some HRT products are improving, shortages of certain strengths of Estradot are now some of the longest running of any medicine in NHS history.
‘When prescribing habits change, we must make sure supply chains can keep up or we risk worsening access to medicines for patients and put more pressure on over stretched pharmacy teams.’
The NHSBSA are reminding women taking HRT they can buy an HRT prescription prepayment certificate for £19.80 to cover prescription charges for 12 months.
Without the certificate, each HRT prescription costs £9.90.
This is a breaking news story and is being updated.