Establishing a Menopause Clinic in Primary Care

Louise Fitzgerald

Keywords: Menopause Perimenopause BMS HRT

Introduction:

The menopause transition can have a significant impact on women. A personalised approach is key to ensure individualised care, specific to their needs.

This is emphasised in the RCGP curriculum which states “women centred life course approach” where every contact throughout a women’s life matters. The perimenopause and menopause is part of this.

We established a person centred dedicated menopause clinic in our primary care practice in August 2022, guided by the British Menopause Society (BMS) guidelines for Menopause Practice.(1) (Published July 2022)

Are we delivering menopause care in line with evidence-based recommendations on best menopause practice? How can we improve this care for the individual?

Method:

A retrospective audit of case-notes of women attending for menopause and perimenopause, before and after the establishment of a person centred dedicated menopause clinic was undertaken using the BMS guideline as the audit standard, we focused on standard 1, 4 and 5. Including appropriate use of blood hormone testing, treatment of review genitourinary symptoms (GUS) and review at 3 months.(1)

Results:

27 case notes reviewed prior to establishment of the menopause clinic showed:
- 66% of women presenting had a diagnosis menopause involving their symptoms with an appropriate use of blood tests.
- 40% of women were asked regarding GUS and appropriate treatment discussed.
- 91% of women were offered a 3 month review after initiating treatment.

27 case notes reviewed after establishment of the menopause clinic showed:
- 81% of women had a diagnosis of menopause involving their symptoms with an appropriate use of blood tests.
- 92% of women were asked regarding GUS and appropriate treatment discussed.
- 92% of women were offered a 3 month review after initiating treatment.

Conclusions:

The establishment of a person centred menopause clinic has improved how we diagnose, treat and follow up our patients going through the menopause.

#8