CAMPAIGNERS have welcomed a move to offer free tampons and sanitary products to every hospital patient who needs them.

NHS England on Sunday said all women and girls being cared for by the health service will be able to ask for appropriate sanitary products free of charge from this summer.

Blackburn-based group FemCura, which is led by partners Jess and Danni Whitehead and raises awareness of period poverty which relates to women being unable to afford to buy sanitary products, described the move as brilliant.

The community group works with schools and businesses in Blackburn to provide schoolgirls and women as old as 50 with free sanitary towels.

Jess said: “This is brilliant news for those who can’t afford to buy these products.

“It’s great that the hospital is doing this but I would like more schools to do the same as there’s a massive stigma out there towards talking about period poverty.”

The move means women and girls receiving treatment in hospitals and other health settings will be able to request pads, pantyliners and tampons when they need them.

East Lancashire Hospitals Trust said it is one of the trusts that already provides free sanitary products to female patients who need them.

A spokesman for the trust said: “Because we do everything possible to ensure patients have access to the essentials of daily life during their time in hospital, the trust already provides free sanitary products to female patients who need them.”

But Jess said more can be done to improve access to sanitary products in hospitals and raise awareness.

She added: “Women are sometimes finding it difficult to access sanitary products in hospitals especially if they’re in there for a long time.

“Schools also need more government funding to address this issue.”