Did I just hear this? GPs can't be expected to "specialise" in women's health?

[CheeseDreamz]

Listening to Women's Hour on Radio 4 - discussion on the HRT panorama programme now. Speaker was Paula something. Can someone confirm that is what she actually said? 51% of the population is not a specialism.

Many medications need annual reviews before the prescription can be continued. That's very normal.

Absolutely fine to need an appointment every 12 months before revaluating medication. Blood pressure should be checked for example for HRT.

That makes zero sense...
Many GPs have Women Health clinics. Now, surely they are pretty on women's health and know when to refer them to the specialist, instead of fogging off continously, which many do, sadly.

Yes they have to review. It’s a legal requirement

Didn’t hear the show but I doubt you heard wrong. Most women of menopause age will have a GP horror story. Getting HRT is like going into battle. Far more women are going to see their GP when they are menopausal than with diabetes or for smoking cessation but most GPs don’t care, aren’t interested and just want to dish out antidepressants. It’s shit. If women were getting any sort of decent service from their gp, there would be no demand for private clinics.

Doesn't surprise me at all, nor do these women hating comments.

I thinks that’s as much as the GPs in my surgery got. 2 prescribed me antidepressants. A third said I was fine and to take folic acid. What I really needed was for them to acknowledge their lack of knowledge on this issue and pass me on to someone who could help, not try to blag their way through and hope for the best.

I don't think GP are required to be specialist but they should have enough knowledge to know when to refer patient. I think GP should do better. In the service, we receive a significant number of referral for mental health that are really related to health issues or connected to the fact women have difficulty accessing treatments.

There is only one GP at my practice who can review hrt. They only have very early morning appointments.

I’ve been on HRT almost 3 years and have never had a review appointment.

Context here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0023dpw

It's worth a listen. Starts around 1.52.

Direct quotes from Paula Briggs:

at around 3.49
“My feeling is that women should not have to pay for menopause care. NHS GPs are able to manage menopausal women…”
Okay cool, they should be able to, the issue though is that they aren't/can't/don't.

She is very happy to then recommend anti-depressants - as mood is not apparently anything to do with menopause, but complex mental health issues.

at around 9.11
“Not all GPS will be able to have an interest in women’s health. We should focus on the GPs that want to deliver more advanced services in women’s health and I really want to make the point here that there are some exceptionally good GPs out there….”

So where are they and what do you do if you can't access one at your surgery or in any surgery locally? Also this is contrary to what people are saying about what GPS should know about.

Right the direct quote is "an interest in women's health" as PP have said. Later a listener response picks up on these points and mentions that she does have a GP with a specialist interest. So specialism is a red herring here. But my points still stand - how can a GP not have an interest (specialist or not) in women's health? How can the head of the BMS think that's okay and not concede that people have gone private because the GP service is simply inadequate, ignorant and not interetsed.

That's crazy!

And now it's an online course - yay!

That's not great though - you should have had one after a few months and another after a year.

I'm in Scotland where things may be different. After three months I had to have my blood pressure taken. And that's it. I have seen the GP about other things in the meantime but have never ever been called for a formal review of my HRT, and never been called for a formal review of my thyroid meds either, and I've been on that a lot longer.

It’s likely they’ve ticked the “HRT review” box at the same time, if you’ve had your blood pressure checked at those other appointments.

GPs aren't specialists in anything. The clue is in the name General Practirioner.

I'm the same. Not had a review since pre COVID. I'm a recently retired GP myself and we did let checks go during the first year of COVID as per guidance we were given.

I just put in for my prescription, tell them I'm fine and then tell them my BP. They have it on my records I'm a GP so maybe they think I know it all. 🤷

Are there GPs who claim to be specialists in men's health?

Or is the implication of the comment that men are the default human model?

If they can't deal with any of the above, what the heck do they spend their years of training working on?

And don't they have to do continuing education?

So it's OK for them to just focus on issues that men and women have in common, i.e. ignore conditions affecting half the population?

Is that not specializing in men's health?

Who knows, @Saschka. My blood pressure is fine - it was only raised through the endless battles to get HRT. In Scotland our GP services were locked up and telephone appointments only for much longer than in other parts of the UK.

I don't think it's too much to ask that in a team of 6 GPs like we have in our surgery they split up some things between them. Someone has a particular interest in geriatrics, or diabetes so they get those patients. They already have a dedicated GP who does the post-natal checks. There is a "well-woman" clinic which is run by a nurse, not a doctor, but all she does is smears and contraception. It's not unreasonable to ask that ONE doctor in a 6 person practice has some sort of training in menopause and HRT.

@mathanxiety from what I've researched menopause is covered on some GP training courses but not all ( although the number is increasing.) GPs have to do CPD but it doesn't have to be about the menopause.

A GPs knowledge is very much pot luck.

You do know that it is not compulsory for GP training to include paediatrics? Personally I find that much scarier.

I always request a female GP if I’m asking about women stuff.