Hundreds of women “trapped” in surgical menopause are “being failed by the NHS”, a menopause support campaigner says.

Dianne Danzebrink, 58, of Norfolk, has called for an urgent review of surgical menopause care to ensure all practitioners know how to prepare their patients.

Ms Danzebrink, who founded Menopause Support, said awareness had improved significantly, but “we haven’t seen a fundamental shift to ensure that every woman has access to good quality care when it comes to menopause.” He needs it”.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (RCOG) said it has directed physicians to comprehensive guidelines on surgical menopause produced by the British Menopause Society and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice).

Ms Danzebrink, who campaigned for menopause education to be included in the secondary school curriculum, called for comprehensive clinical guidance on surgical menopause for health care professionals.

It was created after receiving 319 accounts from women who said they were not told about the side effects of having both ovaries removed.

The campaigner, who lives in Buckinghamshire, said: “I read all 319 responses and at times I had tears in my eyes reading about the extent of the crisis… it’s terrible.”

One example involves a woman who had a hysterectomy at age 28, and at age 31 she developed severe vaginal atrophy, which was never talked about.

Other women said they had waited more than a year to see specialists and couldn’t afford to go privately.

Online Menopause Support Survey Of 521 UK-based women aged 20–59, 74.5% were not made aware of the side effects of having both ovaries removed by health care professionals.

This included not being told that they might have early menopause.

62% people were also found eligible for this hormone replacement therapy (HRT) said it was not discussed with them before surgery, 36% were prescribed HRT immediately after surgery.

HRT is the first line of treatment for menopause symptoms.

good guidelines People who have gone through premature menopause are recommended to be offered HRT until the age of 50–51, by which time most women have experienced natural menopause.

Ms Danzebrink, also part of the Make Menopause Matter campaign, said the results prompted her to search for clinical guidance for surgical menopause through the RCOG website, but could not find it.

They hoped that the guidance set out would ensure that all health care professionals would fully counsel patients before surgery, and provide them with appropriate, ongoing care and support.

He said, “I am shocked by the fact that the organization that represents physicians who are going to remove ovaries doesn’t feel it needs information for the public or guidance for physicians.”

“I think it’s important to say that over the last 10 years things have definitely started to move in the right direction.

“There is more awareness and more information, but we need information that is fully on board, so that all of our health care providers can feel confident in their menopause knowledge.”

RCOG chair Dr Rani Thakar said it had a deliberate policy to avoid duplication of guidance to ensure consistency with established and nationally recognized guidelines.

“(This) makes it easier for practitioners to locate and follow the most reliable and relevant guidance and allows the RCOG to focus its efforts on the areas where its contribution is most needed,” she said. .

“Menopause and perimenopause symptoms can have a huge impact on a woman’s life, and access to reliable, accurate education and information is vital.”

He said that RCOG has a Menopause Hub and was updating its “Treatments for Menopause Symptoms” resource, which will include information about surgical menopause, and was part of an advisory group to develop a national menopause program led by a team from University College London .

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