Women's health plan: second annual progress report - January 2024

Menopause and Menstrual Health, including endometriosis

Spotlight: Menopause and Menstrual Health in the Workplace

The National Menopause and Menstrual Health Policy for NHSScotland and supporting documents were published on 31 October 2023.

The policy outlines the impact menopause and menstrual health can have at work and the role of the line manager in supporting employees.

The policy also supports employees to experience good menstrual health and menopause at work and provides advice and guidance on how they can be supported when they experience symptoms which affect their work.

Whilst each individual’s experience of menopause and menstrual health related symptoms will differ and symptoms may change over time, enabling conversations about the menopause or menstrual health will help create an environment where colleagues feel more confident to seek support and can work comfortably.

Work is now beginning on promoting the policy more widely amongst employers across all sectors.

Did you know?

Whilst the policy was written specifically for NHSScotland it can be used by any organisation or employer who wants to, to provide a basis for workplace policies on menopause and menstrual health.

The supporting resources, including line managers and workplace adjustment guides, are intended for use more widely across a variety of employment sectors. The policy and supporting documents and are freely available on the National Wellbeing Hub which is accessible to the public.

Advancing Menopause and Menstrual health In Organisations (AMMINO)

"Flexibility and kindness. An employee being able to work flexibly in order to respond to their experiences. Sometimes I know that sitting in agony for an hour will produce relatively little work. Whereas meeting my need to relieve pain and soothe, results in more productivity overall." (From an Allied Health Professional, Band 6, Full-time)

To inform the NHSScotland Menopause and Menstrual Health Policy, the working group who led the development worked in partnership with the University of Glasgow on ground-breaking research to establish a new evidence base on women’s experience of working in NHS Scotland in relation to menstrual health and menopause.

In October 2022, the University conducted a survey with over 6,000 NHSScotland colleagues to understand their experiences of menopause and menstrual health in the workplace. Results from the survey and the University’s independent report can be accessed online.

The report makes several recommendations. In relation to menstrual health, it proposes the ‘MAPLE’ framework for period positive workplaces: (Microleave, Allyship, Physical environment, Line Management, and Education and awareness).

For menopausal transition, practical recommendations include: line managers who are supportive and themselves supported in solution-based assistance; a consideration of processes around disclosure and evidence; education and awareness; and agile and temporary changes that enable short-term adaptation to accommodate menstrual health episodes or as symptoms change as employees move through menopausal transition.

Other recommendations include: Actively confront bias or misinformation around women, ageing, health and work across the organisation and with key stakeholders; introduce structural mechanisms and procedures that facilitate best practice and timely support in the workplace; commit to embedding best practice as an ongoing endeavour.

If you would like to know more about the report and its findings, contact Professor Riach on kathleen.riach@glasgow.ac.uk

Education and Training for Primary Care in Menopause and Menstrual Health

NHS Education for Scotland (NES) are developing a bespoke training package and framework focussed on menopause and menstrual health for general practice and others working in Primary Care.

Did you know?

As part of this work, a menopause symptom questionnaire has been developed to help women to keep a note of their symptoms and how they are feeling. This questionnaire can be shared and discussed with healthcare professionals to help them understand the different symptoms experienced.

Menstrual Health: raising awareness by sharing lived experience

"The lived experience really made me appreciate a different perspective from my own period history and about how we better support people."

The ALLIANCE have hosted a number of events and produced resources on the topic of menstrual health in 2023, to provide expert information on understanding and managing periods and menstrual health conditions, including the sharing of lived experience.

You can find more information online, including the most recent webinars which looked at PCOS mythbusting and "Everything you need to know about PMS".

Several videos have been developed on menstrual health conditions, where those experiencing menstrual health conditions have been able to showcase their story.

This has included a fibroids journey, living with adenomyosis and managing menstrual health conditions.

Did you know?

You can watch The ALLIANCE Women’s Health Webinars on their YouTube channel.

The ALLIANCE have also worked with partner organisations and community groups to organise in-person workshops and discussions on menstrual health and menopause to groups of women in Glasgow, Forth Valley, Edinburgh and Stirling. These community sessions were an opportunity to signpost women directly to NHS Inform and share resources on women’s health.

Endometriosis

We are working with NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to develop a series of endometriosis resources for primary care to provide further material to support the Menopause and Menstrual Health e-learning being created by NES.

We are also working with charities such as Endometriosis UK and have funded the organisation with over £24,000 to work with those with lived experience and clinicians to develop new resources to ensure more people with endometriosis in Scotland are informed about the treatment and management of endometriosis associated pain.

In addition, we have also funded the new charity Endometriosis South of Scotland with £18,000 to develop their online platform to host information on a range of topics and deliver sessions to support those with endometriosis in managing the condition, physically and mentally.

Spotlight : Endometriosis research

The Scottish Government collaborated with Wellbeing of Women on a £250,000 research call in 2022.

The research grant was awarded in March 2023 to the University of Edinburgh, with the funding covering a period of 3 years, from financial year 2022/23. This funding is supporting the EPiC2 project, which will be primarily run by the EXPPECT team at the University of Edinburgh.

The EPiC2 research is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled feasibility trial involving 100 women receiving care for endometriosis to evaluate the drug dichloroacetate in the management of endometriosis-associated pain. If successful, the drug could be the first ever non-hormonal and non-surgical treatment for endometriosis – and the first new treatment in 40 years.

The data from this research will help to plan a future large scale, UK-wide trial. The lead researcher is Dr Lucy Whitaker, University of Edinburgh. Dr Whitaker will work in collaboration with colleagues within the EXPPECT centre in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Birmingham.

Menopause

World Menopause Day

"I always come away from these events feeling more positive and although I haven't shared my personal experience it makes me feel like I have and I've been given support."

To mark World Menopause Day The ALLIANCE, in partnership with the Scottish Government, hosted a ‘Talking Menopause’ online panel discussion. The aim of the event was to provide women across Scotland with reliable information to help them feel more informed about menopause.

The panel members were: Professor Anna Glasier, Women’s Health Champion, Dr Heather Currie, gynaecologist in NHS Dumfries & Galloway and Rachel Weiss, founder of the Menopause Café. Feedback from the event has been very positive.

"The event also reminds me to accept what I’m going through is normal and to adapt my life and embrace it."

“I felt solidarity with other women in going through the process & gained confidence in my own knowledge & understanding."

A recording of the session is available online: Talking Menopause - Webinar Recording - YouTube

Did you know?

The ALLIANCE have published a visual resource on menopause which brings together a number of graphics covering subjects such as menopause myths, menopause and the workplace and menopause and sexual wellbeing.