Around 52% of the population is affected by the menopause, yet despite this widespread impact, many people feel they are unsupported in this area both personally and professionally. As a Trust, we recognise that a large number of our workforce is affected by menopause. So we committed to our menopause pledge in March 2022 - continuing to promote the health and wellbeing of our staff and help raise awareness of menopause symptoms and associated stigma.

Our menopause pledge: 

"At STSFT we are passionate about understanding the needs of our workforce and as such we pledge to develop support mechanisms to:

  • Recognise the needs of our people; staff and patients, experiencing the menopause
  • Create a learning culture to enable managers to support employees affected by menopause
  • Enable an open, honest and safe space for employees to discuss the menopause."

Why do we need menopause guidance?
Guidance will help support staff around menopause in the workplace and ensure colleagues are more supported when they come to work, as well as ensuring managers are equipped with the information and skills to support their teams. 

We know that menopause affects a large proportion of staff whether they are experiencing symptoms personally or they are living with and working with those experiencing symptoms. It is therefore important that we as organisation make sure our workforce understand; how the perimenopause and menopause can affect people and how staff can be supported. Guidance aims to:

  • Improve awareness regarding the issues staff who are experiencing the menopause face in the workplace.
  • Identify support and adjustments that could help staff experiencing menopause related symptoms.
  • Encourage staff to discuss the menopause.

We'll be developing our own resources but until then, we wanted to signpost to some helpful resources which you can find below, should you need them.

What is the menopause?

The medical definition of menopause is when you have not had your monthly period for at least 12 months. This happens because of a change in hormone levels.

So really the menopause is just one day however, the term menopause is commonly used more broadly to cover and encompass perimenopause and the symptoms that come from the changes in hormones levels.

Some key terms

Perimenopause: is a natural process caused when your ovaries gradually stop working. Ovulation may become erratic and then stop. Symptoms are caused by the changing levels of hormones in the body.

Postmenopausal: is the time after menopause, when a woman hasn't experienced a period for over a year. Postmenopausal, you will no longer have periods but some women do continue to experience symptoms of menopause.

Early menopause: this is when the menopause occurs 45.

Premature menopause or Premature Ovarian Insufficiency (POI): this is when menopause occurs before the age of 40.

Surgical menopause: Surgical menopause occurs following an operation to remove your ovaries.

Key menopause facts
  • The average age of a person going through a natural menopause is 51-years-old, but it can happen at any time.
  • The average time a person will experience menopausal symptoms is 7 years.
  • 25% will have no menopause symptoms at all.
  • 75% will have some menopausal symptoms and for 25% of these, symptoms are more severe and are negatively affecting their daily life.

Helpful resources
  • Healthtalk has videos of women talking about living with menopause and perimenopause and what helped them. It covers many topics, including: changes in periods, memory and concentration, sex drive, vaginal dryness, emotions and the menopause and perimenopause, HRT (hormone replacement therapy) Click here to view the videos: Listen to personal stories about menopause. 
  • A GP, nurse or pharmacist can give you advice and help with your menopause or perimenopause symptoms.There are also menopause specialists who have experience in supporting anyone going through perimenopause and menopause. Click here to find your nearest NHS or private menopause specialist on the British Menopause Society website
  • Psychological therapies like counselling or CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) can help with symptoms of menopause and perimenopause.  Click here to visit our Mental Wellbeing pages and get more information on how we can support you with the emotional and psychological affects of the menopause.
  • Charities offering information and support include:
  • Women's Health Concern
  • Menopause Matters
  • Daisy Network for premature menopause
  • Menopause Café
  • Queermenopause for people who identify as LGBT+

 

Rock My Menopause

Rock My Menopause is the public-facing campaign of the Primary Care Women’s Health Forum (PCWHF), a group of 10,000 healthcare professionals with a special interest in women’s health. Their aim is to equip people with the expert menopause information and support they need to become more menopause aware. We've shared some useful resources below:

 

Support available to all NHS colleagues affected by the menopause can be found here.

Support for colleagues from NHS England

Click here for more information on supporting our NHS people through menopause (guidance for line managers and colleagues)

The guidance helps NHS organisations, line managers, and those working in the NHS understand more about the menopause, how they can support colleagues at work and those experiencing menopause symptoms.

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