ONE of Britain’s top GPs has criticised the public focus on the menopause — saying it is not an illness.
Professor Dame Clare Gerada, 63, suggested there was too much effort being put into “destigmatising” the life stage.
AlamyProfessor Dame Clare Gerada has criticised the public focus on the menopause — saying it is not an illness[/caption]
She asked why there is not more attention instead on improving access to fertility treatments — saying that infertility was “never” mentioned in meetings of NHS officials, but the menopause was regularly discussed.
Dame Clare, president of the Royal College of GPs, said of the menopause: “On the whole (it) is not an illness, it’s a process you go through”.
She also admitted telling patients experiencing infertility to seek private help because NHS waiting times were so long.
“We are in terrible state around fertility treatment for men and women in this country,” she told an event hosted by infertility charity the Progress Educational Trust (PET) earlier this week.
She added: “Sadly, with most of my patients, I have to advise them to go privately because of waiting times on the NHS.”
Infertility affects one in six couples trying to conceive and research shows it affects both men and women equally.
Official NHS guidelines state women aged under 40 with infertility should be offered three cycles of IVF (in vitro fertilisation) treatment.
But a postcode lottery means just 13 per cent of areas offer this.
Restrictions in different areas mean patients who are obese, smokers or whose partners have previously had children may not be eligible for treatment, depending on where they live.
Recent research by PET found only half of GPs knew what treatments were officially recommended – and male GPs were less likely to refer infertile patients for IVF than female doctors.