Abstract
It cannot have escaped your attention that menopause is fashionable; every day a woman’s magazine or newspaper article has something to say about it, perhaps not new but from a new perspective or by a new celebrity. Women in the public eye finally seem willing to acknowledge they might be in the throes of menopause; albeit often with a story to tell and a book to sell. Yet, menopause is not new, and neither is our society. The BMS, established in 1989, has worked tirelessly over the years to raise awareness, improve education and set standards of care in menopause. The Certificate in Menopause Care, Basic and Advanced is well established, courses are often oversubscribed and we have the positive situation of needing more trainers and mentors, an issue that we are addressing. As a founding member then, it is particularly encouraging to be the Chair of the society today, at a time when menopause is discussed more openly than ever. To see women educating other women, to attend an annual meeting that was full to capacity and seeing BMS represented with symposia at more than eight national and international congresses this year is hugely rewarding. BMS for many years has pressed for guidance and standards in menopause across the UK and the 2015 NICE Guidance on Diagnosis and Menopause 1 was chaired by a former Chairman of BMS, Mary Ann Lumsden and several BMS members contributed to those national guidelines; we encourage all practitioners to take a look at it and refresh themselves with what it says. These days it is quite likely that the women you see will have read at least part of them. Last year, we published our Vision for Menopause Care, 2 proposing that all healthcare professionals should have a basic understanding of menopause and where to signpost women for advice and support, that every primary care team should have a practitioner with a special interest and knowledge in menopause and that each of these should have access to at least one Menopause Specialist for advice, support and onward referral. This is aspirational and would improve care of women throughout the UK, not just in regions where there is currently a specialist. Our newly formed ‘Specialist Register’ will soon be published, enabling both women and other healthcare professionals to identify a practitioner who meets the competence to be registered with the BMS as a menopause specialist. The many ‘menopause educators’ who now offer women support and guidance to navigate their way through a difficult system are an illustration of the need there is for easier access to menopause treatments. We welcome them as affiliate members as they too need to be up to date with current research and aware of new treatments. The result is that menopause, a natural event, is no longer solely the domain of the medical practitioner, it is widely discussed at places of work, in ‘menopause cafes’ and in support networks, which given it a normal event is to be encouraged.
We are not complacent; follow Twitter or any other social media and you will soon see that women still report problems getting accurate, evidence-based information despite the 2015 NICE Guidance, despite there being many more menopause study events for healthcare professionals now than in the past and with the newest edition of the BMS ‘Management of the Menopause’ Handbook published last year. Those of us who see menopause as our main line of work need to remember that for others, menopause makes up a small part of everyday clinical practice and point them towards resources and tools. We continually update our consensus statements and our tools for clinicians. This issue sees the latest of our updates; the Consensus Statement on Urogenital Atrophy, a topic often overlooked by clinicians and yet so troublesome to women. It gives an excellent overview of the problem and discusses management options, including potential new treatments like vaginal laser therapy and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA).
Menopause is not new, despite what the media might portray, but women themselves are now realising that without evidence-based information in a format they can understand (exactly what NICE Guidance suggests), they are unable to make the therapy choices or lifestyle interventions they may need. The days when women simply walk out with a prescription, which they may or may not use, are gone, and for that I am pleased. As a society, we will continue to fulfil our aim of educating healthcare professionals for the benefit of women, to promote good health during the menopausal years and encourage women to prepare for the years beyond. We will publish new research, articles and reports and disseminate new guidance, so that as healthcare professionals we offer all women a ‘gold standard’ in menopause care and let the media do their job of selling papers.