The NHS has had a bumper year for offering hormone replacement therapy (HRT), latest figures show.

Some 13 million items were prescribed to an estimated 2.6 million patients in the latest full financial year spanning 2023/24.

That is compared to just under 11m items for 2.3m women in 2022/23.

It comes after the government introduced a new scheme allowing women to get a year’s worth of treatment for less than £20.

The prescription prepayment certificate was introduced in England in April 2023.

It covers 12 months’ worth of menopause prescription items for the cost of two single prescription charges.

It can be used against a list of HRT products, including patches, tablets and topical preparations.

According to the data, 1.9 million items were issued to patients with a prepayment certificate. That is around 15% of the prescriptions in 2023/24.

But more and more patients seem to be using this route – the proportion in June 2024 was 21%.

As women goes through the menopause – when their periods stop – hormone levels change, which can cause symptoms such as hot flushes and anxiety.

HRT tops up hormones like oestrogen, which start dipping around the time of the menopause, and can help to relieve symptoms.

The NHS data also shows:

• Patients aged 50 to 54 were the largest group, accounting for almost a quarter of those who received a prescription
• Prescription rates varied around the country
• The least deprived areas in England had more than twice as many identified patients receiving HRT prescribing, compared to the most deprived areas