there s a shortage of a gel used by women to help with menopause symptoms. the health secretary has appointed the director general of the vaccine taskforce, madelaine mcternan, to take charge. earlier today i spoke too reena barai, a pharmacist and board member for the national pharmacist association she welcomed the new appointment. we are absolutely seeing a demand for hrt and because of the shortage of oestrogel and the publicity that has been given in release of prescriptions for the last few days for hrt patches as well. what we really want to avoid is a shortage of other products within the hrt range. just to clarify, it is just the gel that we are not able to get at the moment and when we can t get it, we ask for an alternative prescription from a gp. often, that takes a little while to get and then that product becomes available, so it s a bit of vicious cycle for patients. and then that product becomes unavailable. and when women hear about the shortages, are you suggesti