Celebrating 12 months of Menstrual Cycle Support
Today we're celebrating our one year anniversary!
12 months ago we launched Menstrual Cycle Support at the House of Lords, with our first-of-its-kind free, clinically-backed online course, available on social prescription with endorsement from the President of the Royal College of Obs/Gyn, England's Women's Health Ambassador and the CEO of Endometriosis UK, among others.
We want to take a moment to say a huge thank you to all the people and organisations who have helped us with our vision of universal menstrual literacy this year.
This year we've worked incredibly hard to ensure that the course is available on social prescription across the UK so that anyone who seeks support for their menstrual cycle from a healthcare professional in the NHS will receive more than prescription medication, through our easy-access online Menstrual Cycle Support course they gain a better understanding of their menstrual cycle, every day.
Our top ten 2022/23 milestones that we're busy celebrating today:
1# Menstrual Cycle Support free, clinically-backed online course becoming available in over 500 GP surgeries across the UK (though anyone can sign themselves up, any time) - the reach through these GP surgeries is at least one million menstruators.
2# BBC interview - definitely a highlight of the last 12 months, our BBC interview has led to multiple partnerships and opportunities, as well as increasing the number of people who we have supported to take our course.
3# Winning the Millennium Unltd Award in recognition of our social innovation
4# Clinically sound: Being audited and scoring top marks to be listed on the clinical directory by ORCHA (health tech regulator). Menstrual Cycle Support is considered internationally a trusted health tech service by clinicians.
5# Sponsorship: Working with a sponsor with whom we feel ethically aligned: Grace and Green - one of the UK's leading organic and environmentally friendly period product brands.
6# Health Tech Securing recognition and finance from an eHealth Innovation grant (EPIC) - this helped us in the early days to identify as a Health Tech and gain feedback from a team of academics from the University of Plymouth.
7# Team: Building a brilliant Menstrual Cycle Support partnership Outreach team (thank you Kate & Trudi!) and working with an amazing Advisory Board, who have been on hand for late night messages and quick fire coffees - thank you
8# Social prescribing: we've loved working closely with social prescribers, building partnerships with Primary Care Networks from all over the UK and being part of the wider international social prescribing movement, including as a member of the National Association of Social Prescribing (NASP)'s Innovation Network and Scottish Social Prescribing Network
9# Meaningful research: we're working with NHS approved data analysts, Meaningful Measures Ltd, to collect meaningful research on how our course supports our participants. Watch this space for our first Impact Report.
10# On a mission: Working hard behind the scenes to deliver some extremely exciting new projects with amazing partners... more soon!
"I founded Menstrual Cycle Support on a mission for systemic change.
I wanted healthcare professionals to empower those with a menstrual cycle to better understand their menstrual cycle every day before being prescribed (or, at least alongside) medication - this year has been incredible because we've received support every step of the way from healthcare professionals, primary care networks and social prescribing innovators every step of the way.
I feel that we're very much on the path of universal menstrual literacy - thank you to everyone who has given their time and expertise to our mission"Kate Shepherd Cohen, Founder, Menstrual Cycle Support.