CAMPAIGNERS pushing to make hormone replacement therapy free on the NHS are taking their fight to parliament.

Barrow businesswoman Fiona Cloherty is campaigning for a new law which would make hormone replacement therapy (HRT) free in England.

The 53-year-old argues that Viagra is currently free for men - so why not HRT.

51 per cent of women suffer menopausal symptoms and most of them have no idea what may be causing sudden anxiety attacks, brain fog, aches and pains, fatigue, low mood and hot flashes.

There are at least 30 menopausal symptoms linked to low oestrogen - some are more physical than emotional.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is a treatment to relieve symptoms of the menopause. It replaces hormones that are at a lower level as you approach the menopause.

Mrs Cloherty, who is an accredited menopause teacher herself, has gained the support of Barrow MP Simon Fell who has written to the Department of Health and Social Care about the issue.

A small army of supporters are heading to Parliament Square in London before the second reading of the Menopause Bill, which is due to be heard on Friday October 29, to demand free prescriptions for hormone replacement therapy in England – already available in Scotland and Wales.

Labour MP Carolyn Harris is at the vanguard of a movement determined to smash the remnants of the taboo which surrounds menopause.

Mrs Cloherty described the bill as ‘very much a necessity’ for those experiencing menopause in the UK.

She said: “This bill provides an important opportunity for women and families as it aims to improve the support and services given to those experiencing menopause in the UK, including - crucially - the exemption of hormone replacement therapy (NHS) from NHS prescription charges.

“Given the Local Government Association’s estimate that over 13 million people in the UK are either menopausal or peri-menopausal, and that 1.6 million work days are lost to menopause symptoms as a result, a waiver on these charges is very much a necessity.

“The fact that England does not currently provide treatment free of charge is simply unacceptable. This will be a milestone change for women and families.

"I met with Simon Fell at his Barrow and explained what MP Carolyn Harris’ campaign for free HRT prescription was all about and why I feel it is vitally important, and as a result he wrote to Sajid Javid MP to formally ask what the Government’s position was.

"I wanted to raise the profile of the inequality in women’s and men’s health support from the NHS – specifically in the area of free prescriptions for HRT and the menopause.

"Free Viagra for men but women left to fund essential HRT treatment from their own pockets just doesn’t seem right to me.

"The menopause rally in Parliament Square next Friday coincides with the second reading of the Menopause Bill – if you can’t be there in person then I would encourage all women to lobby their MP to support this vitally needed bill to open up access to free HRT treatment to all women."