TheOrator.Press ~ June 2021 “Events Dear Boy, Events.” Menopause Support At Work

Employers, Colleagues, Husbands, Sons & Society All Encouraged To Help End The Taboo of Menopause & To Support Women, As Calls For Menopause Protection Press On In Parliament.

Parliamentary Power Meets Girl Power As “Women’s Troubles” Are Put On The Agenda

“Women’s Talk” Became Parliamentary Debate This Month As Legislation To Secure The Legal Protection of Menopausal Employees Was Urged By MPs In The Commons. Carolyn Harris MP Was Repeatedly Thanked For Securin’ The Cross Party Debate. Given It’s Nature This Ministerial Presentation Was Personal, Powerful And For Once Seemed Refreshingly Truthful.

The Aim of The Debate Was To Help End The Taboo of Menopause And Make It A More Openly Discussed Topic So That Women Goin’ Through It Can Get The Support They Need More Readily. Particularly In The Work Place Without Losin’ Face, Status And Dignity. This Is Seen As Important Not Only In Terms of Women’s Physical Well Bein’, But Also Mental Health And Job Security. The Ten Honourable Members Each Cited Various Reasons Why This Progress Is Needed,  Includin’ A Number of Economic And Relationship Considerations.

And One Thing That Shone Out Very Loud And Clear Is That Society Needs To Include Male Counterparts In The Discussion Too. And That Is Something Long Overdue. Surely There’s No Reason Why Modern Men Can’t Support Girl Power Too!

Parliament Resolves New Menopause Manifesto Providin’ Protection Policies & Progressive Work Place Practices

In This Digital Era of Social Media, Followers, Influencers, Platforms And Shares All Create “Platform Power”. Davina McCall’s Platform Power Is Huge With Over A Million Followers On Instagram. The Power of This ‘Social’ Celebrity Reality Presented Itself In Parliament This Week As Politicians Talked Periods, Free Prescriptions And Peri Menopause. All Subjects Close To Davina’s Heart.

Wednesday June 9 2021 Saw “Platform Power” & “Girl Power” Come Together & Give Westminster A Groundbreakin’ Run For Its Money, In A Very Open, Powerful And Movingly Personal Debate About “Women’s Talk”. Presented By Eight Female MPs, One Female Minister, And A Supportive Gentleman Called Jim, They Sought To Break The Taboo of Menopause And Move Further Towards A More Modern Discussion of Such Matters And Symptoms. Particularly In A Workplace Context.

Especially Notable Were The Repeat References To A Channel 4 Documentary Broadcast Wednesday May 12 2021, Presented By Big Brother Legend Davina McCall, Called “Sex, Myths & The Menopause.” She Is Now A Poster Girl For The Cause And Her Programme Was Lauded By The MPs As A Valuable Research Tool And Learnin’ Resource.

After All 10 Politicians Represented Their Case On Menopause Matters, Issues Historically Hushed Up Under The Umbrella of “Women’s Talk” And Considered Too Taboo For Public Discussion, The House of Commons Officially Agreed To Support “For People Experiencing Menopause Symptoms.” This Is A Curious Phraseology (As Rosie Duffield Noted) But Is For The Long Term Establishment of New Practices & Policies Within The Workplace And Aims To Help Women Workers “of A Certain Age” Avoid Bein’ Displaced At Work And Within Society In General.

This History Makin’ Debate Session Sat For Just Over An Hour From 4.50pm To 5.57pm In The House of Commons And Was Duly Recorded In Hansard (The Official Catalogue of Parliamentary Affairs) Wednesday June 9 2021.

So It’s Official. It’s Real. It’s Happenin’. Parliamentary Power Has Met Girl Power In Order To Support The Menopausal Women of Britain!

The Various Ten Speakers

Nusrat Ghani, Conservative MP For Wealden, Chaired The Debate.

Carolyn Harris, Labour MP, Swansea East, Highlighted The Dedicated Webpage (Created By The Chamber Engagement Committee) Ahead of The Debate Encouragin’ Members of The Public To Share Their Stories. Over 700 of Them Did. Harris Had Previously Addressed The Issue On World Menopause Day 2018.

She Demanded Better GP Trainin To Ensure Better Diagnosis & Treatment, Mandatory Menopause Policies At Work To Ensure Women Can Continue To Work As Comfortably As Possible Through This Transformational Time, And Improved Education & Awareness For Young People, Society At Large & People Close To Women Experiencin’ Symptoms.

She Stated That 13 Million Women, Nearly of A 5th of The Population Are Either Peri or Post Menopausal, Yet Despite This Many Doctors Complete Their Trainin & Leave University With No Education About Menopause At All (As 41% of Universities Do Not Have Mandatory Menopause Education on The Curriculum – Despite It Affectin 50% of The Population). Furthermore She Also Pointed Out That In Terms of Actually Receivin Treatment Shockingly She Revealed That Compared Women In England Who Pay Virtually Ten Pound Per Prescription Item (£9.35), In Scotland & Wales They Are Free. She Also Outlined Various Support Hubs (Below).

Rosie Duffield, Labour MP For Canterbury, Pointed Out Various “Menopause Cafes” And “Support Hubs” (Detailed Below). She Revealed That One of Her Constituents, Elizabeth Ellis, Started Her Own Campaign ’50Sense’ & ‘Know Your Menopause’ After She Received No Help Support And Had To Go Back & Forth To The GP For 4 Years. From Those Two Campaigns She Started ‘Pausitivity’ Which Has Numerous Online Resources Includin Posters That Can Be Printed off For GP Surgeries & Workplaces.
Duffield Also Detailed Some of The Unhappiness Women Have Suffered Includes The Unforseen Expense of Havin To Go Private In Order To Get Help,  Sufferin Palpations, And Bein Asked If They Are Drug Users (Due To Their Symptoms  Which Can Be  Predictably Unpredictable).

Judith Cummins (No Relation To Dominic And Spelt Differently) Labour MP For Bradford South, Was Keen To Mention The Important Work of The New All Party Parliamentary Group On Osteoporosis & Bone Health Which She Co. Chairs With Lord Guy Black of Brentwood. She Explained That The Reduction of Oestrogen At This Time Leads To Loss of Bone Density’ And Increased Risk of Falls. Accordingly The Royal  Society of Osteoporosis Is Callin For GPs To Use Readily Available Digital Tools To Assess Risk & Prevent Fractures As Early As Possible.
Assistance For Those Who Need It Includes Medication, Lifestyle Advice, Vitamin D, And “Fall Prevention Strategies.” She Said Everyone Loses Bone Density & Strength As They Age But Women Lose It 20% Faster After Menopause.

It Is Worth Pointin’ Out Here That The Risk of Osteoporosis, Bone Shrinkage & Frailty Is One Reason Why Age Appropriate Exercise Is Still Important. Even As One Gets Older. Weight Resistance Exercise Can Help Build & Maintain Bone Density, Making Bones Stronger & Minimizing Shrinkage. People Consult Their GP Before Startin’ A New Exercise Regime.

Exercise

Alex Davies-Jones

Discussed How Fertility Treatment Caused Early Menopause Symptoms In Her, Havin Home Support & The Need To Address Isolation. She Called Davina’s Documentary “Taboo Breaking”.

She Made The Case That 8/10 Women Experiencin Menopause Are Still Workin And Simple Changes Such As Paid Leave, Flexible Workin, And Office Temperature Controls Can Provide Effective Help. Accordingly Employers Would Be Wise To Adopt Menopause Awareness Policies In Order To Retain Women With Valuable Experience & Knowledge.

She Lamented The Fact That The Queen’s Speech This Year Did Not Mention Any New Employment Legislation At All, Whilst That Which Was Mentioned Last Year Failed To Materialise. She Urged That The Government To Address This Situation As It Affected Half The Population, The Same Half of The Population Who Have Periods, As She Put It.

In Fairness She Took The Opportunity To Praise The Government For Followin Scotland & Wales In Makin Sanitary Items Free In Schools

And She Said That The Desired New Legislation Concernin Menopause Protection Would Also Facilitate Paid Leave For Parents Receivin’ Neonatal Care. Thus In Effect It Would Be Dealin With A Whole Range of Reproductive Issues & Thus It Was “Absolutely Necessary The Government Took It Seriously.”

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Ruth Jones, Labour MP, Newport West (From Her Welsh Local Constituency, Not The Writin’ Team of Hit Comedy Gavin & Stacey) Revealed That On Lookin Up The Definition of Menopause (She Did Not Say Where) It Was Simply Described As “The Natural Process of Aging” With Treatment Aimed At “Decreasing The Signs & Symptoms.”
She Said This Was A Vague Non Specific Definition & Queried Why There Was Such A Lack of Knowledge On Such An Important Issue Compared  To Puberty & Pregnancy For Instance.

She Also Shared That Even As A Physiotherapist Well Versed On The Physical Aspects of The Menopause The Mental Health Aspects Took Her By Surprise. And Her Husband Too! This Is An Important Point As Men Are often Overlooked When It Comes To The Impact of Such Matters.

Subsequently She Feels That Greater Awareness of Symptoms – Both At Home & At Work – Is Essential Before Menopause Starts Happenin. This Again Is A Particularly Good Point.

She Said Havin Worked For The NHS Wales She Was Able To Speak From Experience As She Helped To Establish A Menopause Policy In December 2018 Which Included “Women of A  Certain Age & One Embarrassed Man.” Again It Was A Matter of Practical Solutions Such As “Openin’ Windows, Relocatin Desks And Sorting Out Uniforms.” [The Need To Wear Particular Clothin’, Footwear or Fabric In Order To Keep Cool As Body Temperature Rises Due Increased Internal Hormonal Activity Is A Fundamental Factor That Can Be An Everyday Element That Changes In Menopause And Can Impact Practically At Work].

Jim Shannon

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Kirsten Oswald

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Charlotte Nichols

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Nadine Dorries

From Parliament To Policy

Whilst Parliamentary Debates Such As This One Enable Ministers To Raise Local or National Issues In Parliament, The Objective Is To illicit A Substantive Government Response From The Appropriate Minister. As Chairperson, Nusrat Ghani MP, Was Repeatedly Urged By The MPs Who Spoke, To Make Sure The Issues Raised Were Considered In Terms of Formin’ Legislation. And Minister Nadine Dorries Repeatedly Stated Her Commitment To The Cause. Together Everyone Who Attended The Debate Endeavours To Help Create An Official Government Menopause Mandate & Greatly Improve Menopause Support & Services. And Refreshingly They All Agreed “There Is No Room For Politics In Women’s Health”. After The Debates Come The Statements And After The Statements Come Policy & Legislation, So We Watch With Interest For Continued Progress And Findings Scheduled To Be Announced This Autumn (October/November).

As Minister For Patient Safety, Suicide Prevention, And Mental Health, Nadine Dorries May Well Have To Do Some Inter-Departmental Juggling. As We Know Health Secretary Matt Hancock Has His Hands Full With The Pandemic, In A Government That Struggles To Walk & Chew Gum At The Same Time. Plus This Is Also Very Much An Employment Issue, As Well As A Health Issue, And Employment Is Covered By The Department of Work And Pensions Headed up By Employment Minister Miriam ‘Mims’ Davis. That’s At Least Three Different Departments Involved.

In The Meantime, Whilst We Await Further Progress Durin’ This Period, We Remain As Positive And Hopeful As Ever That Much Will Be Achieved With Ever Effective ‘Girl Power’. Includin’ More Support Bein’ Proffered By Men.

Research, References & Resources

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