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LIVVE – the new online pharmacy set to lead the menopause revolution
“I am beyond excited to be able to utilise my skills and experience to create something that can make a difference, that’s affordable and can help women.”
Leeds entrepreneur has launched an online pharmacy dedicated to improving access and treatment options for women going through menopause.
In the lead-up to World Menopause Day on 18 October 2022, a Leeds entrepreneur is using her personal experience and medical knowledge to help others going through menopause.
A qualified prescribing pharmacist, 42-year-old Melissa Sookia knows all too well about the lack of support and affordable treatment available for women suffering from menopausal symptoms.
It was whilst offering a menopause service at her clinic that Melissa noticed a huge gap in the market after seeing the significant improvement in patient wellbeing, mood and sex drive within a matter of weeks of receiving treatment.
Speaking about the reasons for setting up LIVVE, Melissa said: “With 13,000,000 menopausal women in the UK, it’s time to cut through the deafening silence on this topic and get past the shame society has placed on it.
Image: Supplied
“I went through perimenopause when I was 40 and after a few appointments with my GP was left feeling underwhelmed and frustrated by the treatment options and advice I received.
“There was so much more I could offer with the knowledge I had about menopause and my role as a prescribing Pharmacist that no one else was doing.”
Within just a few months, Melissa had completed her training with the Marion Gluck Academy and became a member of The British Menopause Society.
LIVVE launches later this month and provides treatment for all 48 symptoms of menopause. Patients can access all the information and support needed to live an empowered life, as well as the freedom to talk openly about their feelings and concerns.
The platform will provide both a consultation service and an online pharmacy all in one place, users can enjoy just one point of contact, enabling patients to receive a more tailored, personal approach to their menopause care and medication.
Being online, the costs and time for consultations is kept down and thus allows for treatment to be more readily available for those in need.
Ahead of the launch, Melissa said: “Pharmacists are a key part of the solution. They are experts in offering practical help and making decisions about which medicines to prescribe and dispense. The online nature of LIVVE enables us to offer a responsive and cost-effective service
“I am beyond excited to be able to utilise my skills and experience to create something that can make a difference, that’s affordable and can help women.”
To find out more about LIVVE, take a look at their website.
In honour of National Chocolate Week, two big brands are joining forces.
Fancy a freebie? Silly question, of course you do.
Tony’s Chocolonely and Yorkshire Tea have joined forces for National Chocolate Week to ask Brits to declare themselves a ‘Melt’...yes, really.
It comes after the brands discovering a new Gen Z dunking trend, with research finding that 80% of 18–24-year-olds say chocolate is their preferred tea-dunking treat.
To understand why the perculiar pairing has become so popular, the brands recruited Associate Professor of Psychobiology, Dr Lorenzo Stafford, to investigate what happens when tea and chocolate come together.
Associate Professor, Dr Lorenzo Stafford said: "It's fascinating to see how much thought Brits put into what makes a great dunk. Flavour, texture and temperature all shape how we experience food, and the combination of hot tea with melting chocolate creates a particularly enjoyable sensory experience.
"When it comes to dunking, tea and chocolate have great chemistry so it’s no surprise young people have embraced it."
If you want to try it out for yourself, then you can for free - but there is one catch.
From Monday 19 to Friday 23 October, anyone who walks into one of Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds and says ‘I'm a Melt’ will get a free mug of Yorkshire Tea and bar of Tony's Chocolonely.
Not only that, but the first 100 customers will also get a limited-edition ‘Melt’ cap.
Yorkshire Tea & Tony’s Chocolonely said of the partnership, “Brits love their tea and their chocolate and now the science shows why. This National Chocolate Week, we’re inviting everyone to give it a go, embrace their inner Melt and discover just how well chunky chocolate and a proper brew can work together.”
Leeds Bradford Airport strikes will NOT go ahead following ‘late offer’ over pay
Clementine Hall
This weekend's strikes at Leeds Bradford Airport have been cancelled.
Around 130 workers were set to walk out this weekend, Unite said, but this has been suspended to allow air traffic controllers to consider a new pay offer.
The Unite members planning on to go on strike were a mixture of air traffic control workers, customer experience staff, security staff and cleaners.
The workers involved in the dispute had recently come out of a four-year pay deal, with some of the departments having fallen behind other airports in equivalent roles.
Pay talks have been happening since December 2025, with the airport's formal offer not going far enough to address the lack of pay parity which led to the decision to strike.
However, as of yesterday 15 October, the workers have been given new pay offers from the airport and the strikes will not take place to allow a ballot on the offers.
Air traffic controllers and hourly paid staff are being balloted separately on their respective offers.
Unite regional officer Neil Whitaker said: "After receiving offers from Leeds Bradford Airport, we have suspended this week’s strike action in good faith to allow members to vote on pay deals.”
In a statement, Leeds Bradford Airport said: "While the ballot process continues with certain members of our frontline colleagues, we remain hopeful that a positive outcome can be achieved and that an agreement can be reached which works for everyone involved.
"Regardless of the outcome of this ballot, LBA has a robust contingency plan in place and will be operating as normal this weekend.
"Our focus remains on supporting a smooth and reliable experience for customers while maintaining safe and efficient airport operations."
Clementine Hall -
18th October 2022 
