Boots becomes first to offer HRT without prescription from today

HRT pills will be available without a prescription for the first time from today, marking a huge step forward for menopausal women.

Boots is the first pharmacy in Britain to have the power to dish out certain hormone replacement therapy (HRT) over the counter.

The landmark move is part of a wider drive to boost health outcomes for women by increasing access to life-changing HRT.

The vaginal tablet Gina, which is prescribed by NHS doctors to treat dryness, soreness, itching, and burning down there, is the first HRT product to be made available to buy from 590 of Boots stores.

Pharmacists will be able to sell the pill in store and online to women aged 50 and above, who have not had a period for at least a year. 

The government was initially forced to act on HRT access after critical medicines ran out of stock in the spring, when patient fears were revealed by The Sun’s Fabulous Menopause Matters campaign.

The huge shortages of HRT left thousands of women struggling or unable to get hold of key medication, which led to women sharing and swapping drugs online and buying HRT on the black market.

One months’ worth of the Gina tablets will set women back £29.99 and will be stocked by all 2,247 Boots stores by the end of October, the pharmacy has said. 

Anne Higgins, pharmacy director at Boots, said: “Boots pharmacists are highly trained healthcare professionals and from today our pharmacy teams can offer this treatment to patients following a short consultation with no appointment needed.”

The government has promised to cut the cost of repeatable HRT prescriptions by April 2023.

Prescriptions cost £9.35 per item in England on the but HRT is free in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

But after politicians and celebs joined The Sun’s calls for change, such as Davina McCal and and MP Caroline Nokes, women on repeat prescriptions will only have to pay one charge of £18.50 a year – saving up to £205.

Last month, the HRT tsar, Madelaine McTernan, was taken off job after several weeks to oversee the Covid jab rollout.

Some 11 different types of HRT, including patient favourite Oestrogel, will now be rationed until October as pharmacies struggle to restock top medicines.