Member's statement: Menopause Awareness Month
Member's statement by Miss Nuala McAllister on .
- MLA
- Miss Nuala McAllister
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 5 October 2026
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Menopause Awareness Month
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5773940
Read the official Assembly record
Text
There are many issues that matter to us, and it is important that all are explored in the Chamber. I will take the opportunity to speak on Menopause Awareness Month, which takes place this month, October. Last week, I met women involved in the Bring Her Back campaign to discuss their work to improve menopause and perimenopause care. Over 50% of our population are women and therefore 100% of the majority of our population will go through menopause. Many of those — not all, but many — will have at least some knowledge of what is to come, with symptoms such as brain fog, disrupted sleep and mental health impacts. However, too many women still struggle to access the care needed to deal with those impacts. There are still far too many stories of women reporting their symptoms to their GP and not being able to access HRT. I am aware of an example where one woman went to a male doctor and was told that it would perhaps be better if she spoke to a female doctor about her perimenopause symptoms. That is simply not acceptable. We have early evidence that early access to HRT can delay women experiencing problems such as high cholesterol levels, blood pressure issues and issues with the heart, brain and bones. However, that is early evidence, and, due to a lack of funding dedicated to women's health issues, we do not have enough to back it up. For too long, women's health has been deprioritised in Northern Ireland. We are two and a half years on from when we first committed to a Northern Ireland women's health action plan, which was meant to be a precursor to a women's health strategy, but who knows when that will come? The Bring Her Back campaign has brought forward a six-point action plan, and I encourage all Members to sign up to improve perimenopause and menopause care in Northern Ireland. I am delighted to support the work of that campaign. A particularly important aspect of the plan is to focus on solutions that have long-term impacts and will benefit over half of our population. Women can no longer wait. They do not need to wait until they are in perimenopause to know about the campaign, to educate themselves and, most important, to be listened to by healthcare providers. We need to ensure that we have a women's health action plan that focuses on perimenopause and menopause care.
410 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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