Covid chief is HRT tsar: Key player in jabs success is given job of tackling medication crisis as it emerges some women are meeting in car parks to swap drugs

• Madelaine McTernan is appointed the new HRT tsar to try to relieve shortages
• She helped lead the Vaccine Taskforce as crucial part in the Covid jab success 
• Miss McTernan will try to help thousands of menopausal women in the country

The woman responsible for securing Covid vaccines for the UK has been put in charge of solving the HRT crisis. 

Madelaine McTernan has been appointed the new HRT tsar and will spearhead efforts to deal with shortages of the medicine. 

She helped lead the Vaccine Taskforce, and has been credited with playing a crucial part in Britain’s Covid jab success, working to secure vaccine supplies. 

Now, she will turn her hand to helping thousands of menopausal women up and down the country who have been struggling to get hold of hormone replacement therapy, mostly due to problems with supplies of a popular oestrogen gel. 

Some have resorted to meeting up in car parks to swap medication, or trying to get it from pharmacies abroad. 

Madelaine McTernan (pictured) has been appointed the new HRT tsar and will spearhead efforts to deal with shortages of the medicine.

Other members of the Vaccine Taskforce have also been redeployed to tackle the HRT crisis, as the Government redoubles its efforts to ensure women can get hold of the medication. 

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: ‘I understand how much women rely on HRT which is why we will leave no stone unturned to help make sure women can get the HRT they need.

‘Madelaine McTernan will use her excellent skills and expertise to build on the success of the Vaccine Taskforce to bolster supply of vital medicines to women across the country.’ 

Now, she will turn her hand to helping thousands of menopausal women up and down the country who have been struggling to get hold of hormone replacement therapy, mostly due to problems with supplies of a popular oestrogen gel (stock image)

Demand for HRT has risen dramatically, with a 38 per cent increase in the number of prescription items over the past seven years. 

The HRT taskforce will be responsible for working with suppliers to find out what can be done to reduce shortages in the short and long term. 

Miss McTernan, a Cambridge law graduate who went on to work in investment banking, will remain director general of the Vaccine Taskforce but be primarily focused on HRT supply for the foreseeable future. 

‘We will apply the key learnings from the successful way the Vaccine Taskforce have procured life-saving vaccines during the pandemic to help ensure women have reliable ongoing access to these critical medicines,’ she said

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