Plans to expand Menopause Hub to Cork

THE founder of the country’s Menopause Hub, which is set to expand to Cork, remembers wearing a magnet in her underwear which was supposed to help her with her hot flushes, but which only resulted in the wire basket in the supermarket and the chain for the trolley sticking to her tummy.

It seems funny now, but at the time it was a genuine attempt by Loretta Dignam to alleviate her menopausal symptoms which were impacting her quality of life.

Loretta is now motivated to help other women so they won’t waste time and money on unnecessary medical tests or solutions that don’t give them any relief.

“For years, menopause has been a taboo subject. No-one wanted to talk about it and women were left to struggle on their own. But the symptoms, of which there are many, can often be devastating and if left untreated can destroy careers, relationships and families.”

Common symptoms of menopause include hot flushes, night sweats, lack of sleep, problems with memory or concentration (brain fog), vaginal dryness and pain, itching or discomfort and psychological symptoms such as anxiety, depression and mood swings.

In January, 2019, Loretta launched the Menopause Hub which has treated more than 6,000 women since.

She recently opened a second clinic in Dublin’s northside, following the success of its southside operation in Mount Merrion.

Three weeks after opening the new treatment centre, it was booked out until February, and now due to overwhelming demand she’s set to open in Cork – at a location yet to be announced.

“Before Covid, we had planned to open dedicated menopause clinics in the key urban centres, Cork being a major city and top of the list.

“However, this planned expansion had to be put on ice during Covid. Since then we have a considerable number of women from the Munster region that avail of our clinics. Also since Covid, telehealth consultations via video have enabled us to expand our reach. However, women still want to come to the clinic for face-to-face appointments and they shouldn’t have to travel long distances to avail of menopause care and treatment. We are constantly being asked when we are coming to Cork,” said Loreta.

She’s currently looking for suitable locations in either the city or Douglas and the plan is to be up and running in 2023. A recruitment drive for specialists – doctors, either GPs or Obs/Gynaecologists with a passion for women’s health and an interest in menopause – has also been launched.

Different to the country’s new public menopause clinics, which are only for highly complex cases, the Menopause Hub is open to all women as it’s self-referral and has a multidisciplinary team including doctors, a psychologist, a women’s health physio and a dietitian and nutritionist.

“It is the only multidisciplinary, menopause clinic in the country,” said Loretta.

She said she opened her first clinic after personally discovering the lack of help available to women going through menopause and enduring 10 years of sub-optimal quality of life.

Treatments on offer at the Menopause Hub’s clinics include hormone replacement therapy (HRT), non-hormonal remedies for those not suited to HRT, diet and nutritional therapies, psychological therapy and women’s health physiotherapy. Other services on offer include blood tests, cervical check screening and Mirena coil fitting and removal.

Loretta who provides training courses for several firms including ESB, Indeed, Lidl Ireland & Northern Ireland, Dublin Bus, Kellogg’s and Accenture believes that employers should introduce menopause policies to encourage female employees to discuss symptoms with managers and help retain scarce talent.

A recent survey carried out by the Menopause Hub found that almost 40% of women seriously considered quitting their jobs because of “devastating” symptoms.

A total of 84% admitted the hormonal change affected their performance and ability in the workplace.

Menopause in the workplace is where mental health was about 10-15 years ago, she says.

“Progressive companies are working with us to introduce menopause policies, training for managers & HR and training for Menopause Champions (not dissimilar to Mental Health First Aiders). 

"Under current health and safety legislation, a failure to support menopausal women in the workplace is simply not acceptable anymore,” she said.

Thanks to Joe Duffy and others, menopause has become a national conversation - but Loretta things we’re only scratching the service.

“But fantastic progress has been made in the last 18 months. And the Department of Health has launched a well overdue, public national awareness menopause campaign which is a world first. So we are opening up the national conversation. We need to continue this so that future generations see menopause as a natural life transition, are prepared in advance, know the signs and symptoms to look out for and can avail easily of the right menopause management and care.”

And the advice she’d give to herself?

“I would tell my 40-year-old self to educate myself about perimenopause and menopause. I would track my symptoms and would seek help as soon as possible. Hormone Therapy (HRT) was a game changer for me, in particular, testosterone, which I never knew women could take or even needed, for that matter. I would have saved myself 10 years of sub-optimal quality of life, and saved myself time and money on unnecessary medical tests and on solutions that never gave me any symptom relief.”

MENOPAUSE SUMMIT

The inaugural National Menopause Summit takes place tomorrow, Thursday, March 23 in Dublin.

Featuring leading advocates, clinicians, facilitators and professionals in the area of menopause and perimenopause, the summit takes place in The Round Room at The Mansion House.

The inaugural summit’s line-up also includes:

• Gráinne Seoige, who will compère and moderate this landmark event
• Davina McCall, who has become a passionate advocate for raising awareness about menopause
• Loretta Dignam, founder and CEO of The Menopause Hub
• Dr Caoimhe Hartley, clinical lead Rotunda Hospital Menopause Clinic, founder & CEO Menopause Health
• Dr Deirdre Lundy, lead medical officer for the Complex Menopause Service at the National Maternity Hospital Holles Street
• Dr Sumi Dunne, GP and clinical lecturer in General Practice, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and the GP expert on RTÉ’s Operation Transformation
• Sallyanne Brady, advocate and founder of The Irish Menopause
• Joanne Healy, head of group employee relations at Bank of Ireland
• Katie Ridge, head of employer relations at Adare Human Resource Management.
• Comedian Deirdre O’Kane will close out the day with a stand-up comedy set musing on all things menopause.

See www.nationalmenopausesummit.com