Menopause Archives

Laura, Becci and Carla, pictured during their speeches at the conference.

All-Wales Menopause Conference is Hosted in Wrexham!

November 30, 2023

And we were delighted to be asked to organise patient speakers for the event. Our thanks go to Laura, Becci, and Carla (pictured, above), FTWW volunteers who each gave hugely powerful and knowledgeable talks on the symptoms of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) and Premature Ovarian Insufficiency (POI) (otherwise known as ‘early menopause’) at the second annual All-Wales Menopause Conference earlier this month. Not only were their presentations incredibly moving, they also provided a wealth of information to clinicians in attendance on how to identify issues and support patients. We know you will join us in congratulating them for sharing their…

A group photo of women posing with the menopause manifesto. Dawn Owen is stood just off centre right, holding a FTWW leaflet

Menopause Mandate: Dawn attends House of Lords event

October 24, 2023

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Dawn Owen (just off centre right, holding a FTWW leaflet), one of FTWW’s fantastic volunteers and Menopause Champions, was this month invited to the House of Lords for the launch of the All-Party Parliamentary Group’s launch of a UK Menopause Manifesto. The Manifesto echoes some of the calls FTWW has been making, not least as part of the All-Wales Menopause Task & Finish Group, whose recommendations will feature in a new NHS Wales Women’s Health Plan. We are particularly keen to see menopause feature more prominently in training for healthcare professionals, including GPs, practice nurses, and gynaecologists. We also want…

A photo of all four guides with text reading: Easy Read booklets about keeping healthy in perimenopause and menopause

Menopause Awareness Month: Easy Read Wales launches new menopause guides

October 24, 2023

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18th October was World Menopause Day, and Easy Read Wales launched four bilingual easy read guides covering menopause and perimenopause, symptoms, HRT and keeping well, and speaking to doctors and healthcare professionals. The booklets were co-produced with FTWW, The Menopause Charity, and people with learning disabilities representing Cwm Taf All Wales People First. Easy read guides are created to make information accessible for people with learning disabilities, but are regularly accessed by other disabled people as well as those who are time limited. It’s just one example of how making something accessible for one group of people benefits wider society!…

Focus on Menopause: #Flushfest23 and the second All-Wales Menopause Conference

August 17, 2023

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Join #FlushFest23 in Edinburgh or online on 8 and 9 September, for a festival full of menopause advice, fun, storytelling, wellbeing workshops and much more. See the full programme and buy tickets here. We’d also like to remind you that the second All-Wales Menopause Conference takes place in November. This one is also hybrid, and will welcome renowned national and international speakers, shining a light on topics such as menopause and cardiovascular, bone, and mental health, menopause in the workplace, and the role of testosterone. FTWW is pleased to be facilitating the involvement of expert patients. Find more information and buy…

All Wales Menopause Task & Finish Group Report Published

March 16, 2023

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In February, Welsh Government published an important report on menopause – the ‘All-Wales Menopause Task & Finish Group Final Report & Recommendations’. FTWW was delighted to support two of its volunteer patient representatives – Lisa Nicholls from South and Dawn Owen from North Wales – to take part, ensuring that the patient voice was heard alongside those of clinicians and government. Recommendations from the report include: the need for menopause to feature in the 10-year Women’s Health Plan for Wales currently under development the need for more research into different aspects of the menopause wider education and information on menopause…

Lara and Lisa presenting at the WMN Conference

Wales Menopause Network Conference

October 10, 2022

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Da iawn and diolch to FTWW Menopause champions Lara Morris (left) and Lisa Nicholls for speaking about their patient experiences at the Wales Menopause Network inaugural conference on Saturday. FTWW’s Engagement Officer, Dee, also posed questions from our members to clinicians Dr Nadia Hikary-Bhal and Dr Jayne Forrester-Paton – although that session had to be cut short, Nadia and Jayne have kindly offered to respond to all of the questions, so we will be able to share that information with you soon. There were some really great discussions about research being planned in Wales which will look at menopause and longevity,…

Lisa Nicholls after finishing her Ultra Marathon

Congratulations, Lisa! We are ULTRA proud of you!

September 30, 2022

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FTWW’s Menopause Lead, Lisa Nicholls (pictured), has long supported our members experiencing menopause-related issues, and also represented FTWW in the media and high level meetings, including the Westminster APPG on Menopause and the All Wales Planned Gynaecology Board Task & Finish Group for Menopause. She does so much in her volunteering for us, but the saying ‘going the extra mile’ doesn’t quite do it justice – she recently took part in a gruelling 50-mile Ultra Marathon, over the Brecon Beacons, to raise vital funds for FTWW. If you’re as impressed with Lisa’s efforts as we are, please do consider making a…

Women’s Health Plan for Wales Launched by Third Sector Coalition

May 28, 2022

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A report published by a coalition of charities and health organisations, on International Day of Action for Women’s Health, says women in Wales have poorer health outcomes than men and urgent action is needed to ensure they receive equal care and treatment. Leading the Women’s Health Wales coalition of over sixty charities, UK-wide umbrella organisations, Royal Colleges and patient representatives, British Heart Foundation BHF Cymru and Fair Treatment for the Women of Wales (FTWW) have today [Saturday 28th May 2022] published a Quality Statement which calls on Welsh Government to improve healthcare for women, girls and those assigned female at…

Dr Louise Newson and Dot Davies sit together on a small blue sofa in Dr Newson's office. They are both looking at the camera and smiling.

Welsh Government Commits to all-Wales Menopause Pathway

November 16, 2021

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You may have seen Dot Davies’ ITV Wales documentary on Menopause, This Week: Tackling The Menopause Taboo, which followed the results of an ITV Cymru Wales survey, which found that more than a third of women said they have considered giving up their work because of their menopause symptoms. In addition, 60% said their symptoms have had a negative impact on their work, with 25% saying they did not feel supported by the workplace while experiencing menopause symptoms. We were delighted that the programme ended with a commitment from Welsh Government to an all-Wales menopause pathway providing same high standard…

Menopause Roundtable Discussion at Westminster

January 27, 2019

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FTWW’s Menopause campaign lead Lisa Nicholls, travelled to London, for a Menopause Roundtable Discussion in Westminster on Tuesday, 22nd January 2019. She joined forces with campaigners from across the UK, and represented the specific issues faced by women in Wales. Lisa reports that the meeting was a great success! “We all had an opportunity to discuss our reasons for attendance, and things we are doing in our retrospective areas. We had a good opportunity to discuss lack of services, poor / limited access to specialists. Jacqui Doyle MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health, was a really supportive chair. She…

FTWW Launches Menopause Campaign

July 18, 2018

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#NotJustHotFlushes! FTWW can’t help but get heated over the following: Women make up 52% of the population in Wales – and with more and more of us having children later in life, caring for older relatives, or working for longer as retirement ages rise, the fact that MENOPAUSE remains an unspoken mystery to so many women, their families, and employers is shocking – especially as FTWW has learned that more than 10% of women suffering severe menopause symptoms leave work as a result. For about half of women going through the menopause at any one time, about half of those…