The College launched its first ever position statement on menopause and mental health in the House of Commons on Monday, on a day when we secured mass media coverage as well as the support of parliamentarians, the healthcare sector, celebrities and well-known influencers.
The statement lays bare the lack of understanding across society that means many women are neither seeking, nor receiving, vital help because they are not aware of the relationship between the menopause and mental health.
The College is now urging that there must be better menopause and mental health policy that is designed in collaboration with women who have lived experience; the implementation of good quality workplace menopause policy which recognises the link between menopause and mental health; and the healthcare system must be able to meet the mental, psychological and physical health needs of women experiencing menopause and mental illness.
Read about the menopause position statement
Parliamentary launch and stakeholder engagement
RCPsych Honorary Fellow, Davina McCall MBE supported the launch at a Parliamentary event at Westminster last week.
With thanks to our host, Chair of the APPG on Mental Health, Sojan Joseph MP.
Speakers included:
- Emily Grace, RCPsych Patient and Carer Representative, who shared her own lived experience.
- Professor Faye Ruddock, Chair and Founder or the Caribbean and African Health Network (CAHN), who spoke about the inequalities faced by Black women going through menopause.
- Dr Cath Durkin, RCPsych Presidential Lead for Women and Mental Health, who provided a background to the position statement and the need for action.
- Davina McCall MBE, who spoke about the importance of the position statement and championed the work of the College.
- Professor Subodh Dave, RCPsych Dean, who highlighted our commitment to training the psychiatric workforce and the need to further improve education among employers and society.
- Dr Lade Smith CBE, RCPsych President, who emphasised the calls for action, reiterating that the time for change is now.
The event saw us engage with key stakeholders including other Royal Colleges, menopause charities, senior members of the Mental Health Policy Group and the APPG on Mental Health. We will be harnessing existing and new relationships with these stakeholders on the topic of menopause and mental health.
Following the event, RCPsych has also started conversations with target parliamentarians and has been invited to discuss our work with the APPG on menopause. The statement has also been welcomed by many stakeholder organisations, including the Medical Women's Federation, with a commitment to share among their members and take action.
Media engagement
The launch of the statement secured a flurry of publicity, backed by Davina McCall.
The College’s story hit the headlines on Monday 2 March with The Guardian running an in-depth feature that gained more than 500,000 online hits within five days. The Sun ran a video from Davina on the topic, reaching more than 30,000 readers within the first week. We secured 278 mentions across the media with key coverage including LBC, Daily Mail, Independent, Metro, the Jeremy Vine Show and the Telegraph.
President Dr Lade Smith CBE was invited on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour this week to discuss the topic.
Speaking on the show, Dr Smith said:
“Unfortunately, women's health needs have not been attended to, because they haven't really been thought about, so women's health has lagged behind and that's certainly the case when it comes to the menopause.”
Listen to the interview (06:34)
Influencers
Davina McCall lent her support to our public promotion of the position statement in a number of ways, including by recording a video statement and sharing our posts with her 2.1m Instagram followers. By collaborating with her account to publish the video, we reached more than 126,000 users, 81% of whom didn’t yet follow RCPsych.
Instagramer and podcaster, Louise Boyce (@mamastillgotit_), attended the parliamentary event and shared our position statement with her 904,000 followers, alongside Kate Rowe-Ham (@kateh_fitness), member of the Menopause Mandate, who also engaged with her 101,000 followers.
Digital engagement
As a result, the news story on our website announcing the launch of the position statement gained 2,742 views in its first week. Our Instagram account following alone increased by 462 (3.6%) within one week of the Westminster launch, surpassing the previous two months' growth.
There is more to come, including an Instagram Live with Davina McCall and Dr Lade Smith shortly.
Get involved
You too can get involved by:
- reviewing the specific calls to action and seeing how you can help to implement change
- download the position statement to read and share it with your MP, employer, healthcare professionals, friends and family.