Hastings Mum Leads Campaign to Overhaul NHS Menopause Care Policy

The Surge Menopause Campaign: Demanding Better Care for Sudden Onset

A grassroots campaign, spearheaded by Kate Dyson, a mother from Hastings, is challenging the National Health Service (NHS) to fundamentally revise its approach to menopause care, particularly for women experiencing sudden, or surgical menopause. Following her own traumatic experience, Dyson founded the group Surge Menopause to advocate for standardized, immediate, and specialized treatment protocols that recognize the unique severity of menopause induced by surgery.

Dyson’s efforts highlight a critical gap in current NHS policy: the failure to adequately support patients who are thrust into menopause overnight, often resulting in severe, debilitating symptoms that require urgent intervention, specifically through Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).

The Catalyst: Navigating Sudden Surgical Menopause

Kate Dyson’s journey began when she underwent surgery that necessitated the removal of both her ovaries, an operation known as a bilateral oophorectomy. This procedure instantly halts the body’s natural production of reproductive hormones, plunging the patient into an abrupt state of menopause.

Unlike natural menopause, which typically occurs gradually over several years, allowing the body time to adjust, surgical menopause is immediate. This sudden hormonal withdrawal often results in symptoms that are far more intense and acute, including severe hot flashes, debilitating joint pain, extreme fatigue, and significant psychological distress.

For Dyson, the immediate aftermath of the surgery revealed a systemic failure in follow-up care. Despite the clear medical necessity for prompt hormonal intervention, she encountered delays, inconsistencies in prescribing practices, and a lack of specialized knowledge within general practice settings. This experience underscored the urgent need for a dedicated pathway for women facing this specific medical crisis.

“When you are thrown into menopause instantly, the standard care pathways designed for gradual onset simply do not work. We need the NHS to recognize this as a distinct medical emergency requiring immediate, expert attention,” Dyson stated, emphasizing the urgency of the policy changes.

Demanding Policy Reform from the NHS

Surge Menopause is not simply seeking better individual treatment; the campaign is focused on implementing concrete, systemic changes to NHS guidelines to ensure consistent, high-quality care nationwide. Their demands center on improving access, training, and standardization, particularly concerning HRT provision.

Key Policy Changes Advocated by Surge Menopause:

• Immediate HRT Access: Establishing a mandatory protocol for immediate, high-dose HRT initiation for all patients undergoing bilateral oophorectomy or other procedures leading to surgical menopause, unless medically contraindicated.
• Specialist Referral Pathway: Creating a fast-track referral system to specialist menopause clinics or endocrinologists for complex cases, bypassing lengthy waiting lists often associated with general referrals.
• Enhanced GP Training: Ensuring that General Practitioners (GPs) and primary care staff receive mandatory, updated training specifically on managing surgical menopause and complex HRT regimes, including transdermal and higher-dose options.
• Standardized Prescribing: Eliminating the postcode lottery of care by implementing national guidelines that standardize the type and dosage of HRT prescribed following surgical menopause, ensuring consistency regardless of location.
• Pre-Surgical Counselling: Mandating comprehensive pre-operative counseling for patients undergoing procedures that may induce menopause, ensuring they are fully informed about the hormonal consequences and immediate treatment plan.

The Broader Context of Menopause Care in the UK

While the campaign was born out of the specific challenges of surgical menopause, its success would have far-reaching implications for all women navigating hormonal changes within the NHS. The issues raised by Surge Menopause—lack of specialist knowledge, inconsistent prescribing, and long waiting times—are endemic to general menopause care in the UK.

In recent years, there has been a significant push for better recognition of menopause as a serious occupational and health issue. The campaign leverages this momentum, arguing that if the NHS can establish robust, specialized protocols for the most acute cases (surgical menopause), it will inevitably raise the standard of care for all women seeking HRT and support.

Why Surgical Menopause Requires Distinct Attention

The immediate and complete cessation of ovarian function in surgical menopause carries long-term health risks beyond typical menopausal symptoms, including increased risk of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease if HRT is not initiated promptly and maintained effectively. This medical reality underscores the necessity of the policy changes advocated by Dyson and Surge Menopause.

Key Takeaways: Impact and Outlook

Kate Dyson’s personal advocacy has transformed into a national movement demanding accountability and improvement in women’s healthcare provision. The campaign serves as a powerful example of how patient experience can drive necessary policy change.

The primary goals and implications of the Surge Menopause campaign are:

• Elevating Care Standards: Forcing the NHS to acknowledge surgical menopause as a distinct and urgent medical condition.
• Reducing Health Risks: Ensuring timely HRT access to mitigate serious long-term health risks associated with sudden hormonal deprivation.
• Empowering Patients: Providing women with clear, standardized treatment pathways and access to expert advice.
• National Consistency: Eliminating regional disparities in the quality and availability of menopause care.

As of 2025, Surge Menopause continues to lobby policymakers and clinical commissioning groups, using patient testimonials and medical evidence to push for the formal adoption of these specialized protocols across the NHS. The campaign underscores that effective, compassionate care for women’s health issues must be integrated and standardized, not left to individual GP discretion or outdated guidelines.

Conclusion

The efforts led by Kate Dyson and Surge Menopause represent a crucial step toward modernizing women’s healthcare in the UK. By focusing on the acute needs of women undergoing surgical menopause, they are shining a spotlight on broader deficiencies in hormonal health management within the NHS. Achieving these policy changes would not only provide essential relief and better health outcomes for thousands of women facing sudden menopause but would also set a precedent for higher standards in complex, long-term care across the board.