Source: Department of Health and Social Care published on this website Friday 24 October 2025 by Jill Powell
Millions of women across England will benefit from the menopause being included in routine NHS health checks for the first time - marking a landmark step forward in women’s healthcare.
Routine appointments will now tackle one of society’s most overlooked health challenges, ensuring women experiencing perimenopausal or menopausal symptoms get the right information and support, while also raising awareness earlier so more women recognise the signs and seek help sooner if needed.
The addition of dedicated questions to the NHS Health Check about the menopause - free assessments offered to eligible adults aged 40 to 74 every 5 years - will benefit nearly 5 million women.
Too often, women’s experiences of menopause have been minimised or misunderstood, with symptoms sometimes mistaken for other conditions or attributed to stress or lifestyle factors. Today’s announcement will help bring menopause into the mainstream of healthcare conversations - delivering on the government’s Plan for Change by building an NHS fit for the future.
The NHS Health Check is aimed at identifying people with health risks including cardiovascular disease, stroke, kidney disease, type 2 diabetes and dementia.
By making menopause a part of these health checks, we’re raising awareness of symptoms and giving women the confidence to seek help. Women reporting symptoms will be directed to services, information and treatment options to provide relief.
The move marks a crucial shift in women’s healthcare, as it empowers clinicians to proactively address concerns that often go unrecognised, ensuring women feel heard and supported during what can be a challenging transition.
Questions in the health checks will be developed over the coming months with health experts feeding in.
Menopause affects all women differently, with most experiencing the transition between ages 45 and 55, though symptoms can begin earlier during perimenopause.
Three-quarters of women experience symptoms - from physical changes like joint pain, weight gain and hot flushes to cognitive effects such as memory issues and brain fog - which can last an average of 7 years and significantly impact daily life. Yet fewer than 1 in 10 feel they have enough information to deal with it.
The government has made significant strides in women’s health since taking office, including:
- gynaecology waiting lists beginning to fall for the first time in years, with the government investing additional funding to tackle the backlog of cases
- we have set out how we will eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 through the new cervical cancer plan for England, and emergency hormonal contraception is due to be made available free of charge on the NHS at pharmacies from the end of this month (October 2025)
- the government has also introduced Jess’s Rule, which ensures GPs in England ‘think again’ if they see a patient 3 times and cannot identify a diagnosis, or find symptoms are getting worse
Overhauling women’s healthcare is a key part of the government’s Plan for Change to build an NHS fit for the future, ensuring healthcare services are personalised and preventative.
