NHS to offer “light duties” to menopausal women.

Katie59

In practice allowances are made for any physical condition that affects your ability to work to full capacity, most don’t want to be seen as letting the team down and soldier on. Light duties or home working are a better option than having a day off.

This seems to me a very pragmatic and sensible post.

Ok, it happens to be menopausal women focused on in this thread: I think it’s just been inadequately highlighted in the past.

The general sensible approach to all seems best: a more accepting society all round.

Will that include all the menopausal nurses and other front-line staff - I doubt it!

It's smoke and mirrors - like having the right to request flexible working, or to request a choice of school. A right to request something doesn't mean you get it, you just have a right to ask!

I was discussing this on the phone with a friend today who is of the ‘just get on with it’ mentality. I pointed out that I never understood women taking medication for morning sickness because I just sailed through my pregnancies. And, apart from my periods getting closer and closer together (my doctor gave me some medication for it that had testosterone in it: I’ve never felt so energetic in my life but had I continued I might have grown a beard) I pretty much sailed through the menopause, too. But when my daughter had morning sickness throughout her pregnancy and a friends daughter had to keep a bucket in the car because she threw up constantly I realised that, just because something didn’t happen to me it doesn’t mean that some people aren’t suffering greatly. Even though I’ve always been a staunch feminist I remember thinking to myself many years ago that, if I ran a small business would I employ a woman with the prospect of having to pay her maternity leave at some point when I could employ a man. And I still don’t know the answer to that. I hardly had a day off work in my last job: I know I was sent home one day because I had a norovirus and didn’t realise that I shouldn’t be at work ( I didn't want to let anyone down) and quite often crawled into work feeling awful to cover for people that were always off sick.

Yes downtoearth, I was lucky the hormones helped. I’d had horrendous periods from 13-23 when my first baby arrived. By 45 I was in the mire again

Iam I had a lady gp who didnt have a clue,I eventually got referred to hospital fortunately,I was 40 when I had the hysterectomy,after many horrendous times after starting my periods at 14,my work had always been customer facing my periods had always been heavy and hormone treatment just didnt help.
Kitty I have felt your embarrassment it unexpectedly started in white jeans in the middle of town.

It is just a sensible move to try to retain valuable staff members who would otherwise have to take a lot of sick days or, more likely, just leave. The NHS is suffering from staff shortages and this is a pragmatic solution to a problem.

In my last job before retiring as a Senior Nurse Manager in the NHS I was on my knees with menopausal symptoms (which as it happened also revealed a more serious diagnosis). I asked to go to some flexi or part time or working from home for a day a week or a mix of all three. This was refused so I felt I had to retire 5 years earlier than planned. I was wrung out.

Another one here who suffered from horrendous flooding. The predicaments I have been in!

kittylester, I once got a frantic phone call from a friend 'trapped' in the ladies loo of a shopping centre. I went with a bin bag, clean clothes and baby wipes - although it took me an hour to get there.

I remember some awful days at school and work, as a teenager, young woman, when pregnant - and during the menopause. I would have welcomed 'lighter duties' as I rarely had a day off - and just battled on. Perhaps there would be less staff sickness with more flexibility?

He was a lovely gp - nice wife, 4 children, same ages as ours etc, etc. I was so shocked.

Changed to the loveliest young female gp. Who at least waited a while before emigrating to NZ.

Wow kittylester - make or female or someone who’d transcended such labels

I had to walk from one end of Leicester to the other in a long white jumper with a huge blood stain front and back. I was so embarrassed I couldn't think sensibly enough to do anything but make for the safety of my car where I bled all over the seat.

My gp told me that no one ever died of a period. I changed GPs.

Downtoearth - I arrived to deliver specialist training to police and social workers, 50 waiting. I’d to drive home, luckily only 35 mins away, shower change and return at 11 to start rather than 9 am scheduled. Luckily, my police colleague stepped in. I phoned my GP who arranged a hormone prescription.

He said I shouldn’t be ‘getting on with it’, if any changes other part of my body was bleeding like this, I wouldn’t have hesitated to get in touch with the practice. He was right of course. He referred me for hysterectomy but it settled with hormone treatment. I feared the hormone treatment in reading my cancer risk but I’m 73 and so far ok

The menopause presents such a gamut of symptoms from hardly anything at all to most severe, it's really hard to categorise. I certainly think some women have it really bad so maybe they need to have some slack cut for them, if indeed their job allows that. It's a hard one, but a blanket roll out might well prejudice older women's opportunities.

I can remember having excruciating period pains on one or two occasions when I was at work in my early years, I went home with the excuse I was feeling sick, I think maybe one of my bosses guessed what the problem was, but I wasn't forced to elaborate. It didn't happen that often, pre children, periods were never as bad after giving birth.

There are countless NHS posts that this simply would not be a practical solution for. It might suit some of the pen pushing management types but certainly wouldn't be ideal for a theatre nurse, surgeon or frontline ambulance personnel.

I found flooding to be the worst problem,at one point I had to give up work whilst awaiting a hysterectomy.
One day during a particularly bad period the inevitable happened,couldnt get to the toilet in time,had to walk through a factory of men and women looking like a blood bath had happened,I didnt return to the job as I was temping.
A few months later I had a hysterectomy fortunately .

It is good that any employer should recognise that some women have menstrual problems; just as it is good if an employer recognises and accommodates off days that any employee might have, male or female, for whatever reason.

Singling out menopausal women as having problems might deter the employment of women of the relevant age.

Oopsadaisy
It’s already happening, and has been for some years.

I don't see a problem as they are 'offering' it, not insisting on it. I think it can only be a good thing. I had menopausal periods which were horrific, lasted sixteen weeks and I flooded every time I stood up. As a teacher, I couldn't always leave a class. It was eventually dealt with but for a while it was awful. The light duties wouldn't necessarily last forever.

This wouldn't work in teaching, because obviously you can't work shifts, and frequently you the only adult in a classroom with no other adults nearby to take over if a 'crisis' occurs; ( I spent many years teaching in a mobile classroom on the playing field a long distance from the female lavatories, and the facilities were not good.)
That said, I managed the menopause with very little difficulty, and I do think problems are being over emphasised now.

In practice allowances are made for any physical condition that affects your ability to work to full capacity, most don’t want to be seen as letting the team down and soldier on. Light duties or home working are a better option than having a day off.

I struggled with flooding and the fear of it happening in front of a lecture hall full of students. The heating was often a problem too - I remember one time when I’d adjusted the thermostat in the morning and forgot to reset it. I was back in the same hall in the afternoon and the students were sitting in their coats, scarves and gloves .

Light duties wouldn’t have been possible but some roles would lend themselves to adjustments, and I would support that, even if not everyone could benefit.

Male staff will certainly be seen as a better option soon won’t they?

Cross posted there. I had flooding that meant I’d to keep a change of clothes at work. A course of hormones sorted it. My work wouldn’t have enabled a non public facing role.

Well the NHS certainly knows how to spend our money doesn’t it?
MzOops has been menopausal for a few years, the last thing she would want is for everyone to know about it. Whatever ‘Womens problems’ women have through their lives (not just menopause) I can’t see that making employers pay for it is a good idea.
Certainly a bit of understanding is a good thing, but light duties? Nurses working from home? Whilst the NHS employ more Agency Staff, how’s that going to work?