this is known as a serious shortage protocol. it is a temporary measure to deal with the immediate shortage. the move has been welcomed by the british menopause society and other experts, at least as an answer to the immediate problem. the issue that i have is that this is not a long term strategy. this is fabulous for a short issue, but longer term, we need to ensure there s no supply issues when it comes to 0estrogel, 0vestin, lenzetto these creams or other types of hrts that we commonly prescribe as nhs doctors. the government is dealing with this by learning lessons from the successful vaccines roll out. it has appointed madelaine mcternan from the vaccines task force as hrt tsar. one issue for her is getting a true sense of how many women are on hrt. nobody knows for certain, but the best estimates are that around 10 40% of menopausal women take it. that number is only expected to rise. drug shortages are notjust for hrt and nothing new.