No, you can self refer to the clinic.
Unfortunately the majority of private healthcare insurance companies do not cover menopause, but it is worth checking with them.
Consultations fees are as follow
- New patient to the clinic video consultation £250 (This does not include any medication or investigation costs)
- Follow up video appointment £160. (This does not include any prescription or investigation costs)
In-person appointments are £280 for a new patient appointment and £180 of for a follow up.
If you have not been seen by the clinic for over a year we will ask you to book a new patient appointment.
- Short 10 minute telephone appointment for a short query in between appointments £80 (This does not include a letter)
- Additional letters £30
- Blood tests must be paid for on the day that the request is made. We will ask consent to take payment from the card that is held on your file. The phlebotomist will usually charge around £50 depending on your local clinic and this will be charged separately.
We reserve the right to change our pricing in future without prior notice.
Cancellations will be fully refunded or rescheduled if at least 48 working hours notice is given (M-F, excluding bank holidays) for any changes. After this time, the full cost of the appointment will be charged.
Please note that booking confirmation emails may go into your junk email box. You should receive an email on booking your appointment - please contact us if you have not received this and it has not gone in your junk folder.
We will send you a health questionnaire and a symptom checker to complete and return before your consultation. In some cases we will also ask for copies of letters that you have received from other specialists if you have a complex medical history or have had cancer treatment.
We offer video consultations which are conducted via the secure clinical system Semble and you will be sent a link to click on ready for your appointment.
We are also beginning to offer in-person appointments from our clinic space in Hale. You can find out more about these appointments here
An initial appointment will last for approximately 50 minutes and follow up appointments for 30 minutes.
During your first appointment we will discuss your menopausal symptoms and any concerns that you may have. We will also look at many other aspects such as your previous health, family health and lifestyle factors. We do not have access to your NHS records so would ask that you complete your pre consultation questionnaire as comprehensively as possible.
We can discuss the individualised benefits and risks that taking HRT would have for you and if you decide to proceed with HRT will advise on the most suitable regime. This will be based on NICE and British Menopause Society guidelines and in keeping with the British Menopause Society gold standard recommendations, body identical HRT will be advised where possible.
HRT is contraindicated in some cases and if this is the case or you would prefer not to use HRT we can discuss alternative medications or lifestyle approaches to help with your symptoms.
At your 3 month review appointment we will discuss any adjustments that may be helpful with both HRT and lifestyle. It is common to experience some side effects when starting HRT. These generally settle down and stop within the first few months, but this is also an area that we would discuss at your review. Guidelines indicate that HRT should be reviewed at least on an annual basis after this.
The majority of the HRT that we recommend is also available on the NHS. A private prescription can be issued on the day of your appointment. This is sent electronically to a secure online pharmacy who will then post your medication to you. There is also the option to ask your GP whether they would be able to prescribe the regime that will be detailed in your letter. In the majority of areas GPs are not supported to prescribe testosterone unless it has been advised, started and stabilised by a specialist clinic.
The medications vary in cost, but a prescription for basic HRT is likely to cost around £40 per month.
We do not have the facilities to fit the Mirena coil, but work closely with another specialist based in Altrincham called Dr Natalie Summerhill who is able to fit them. Many GP surgeries also offer this service.
Most people will require an initial consultation followed by a review appointment after 3 months. If testosterone is started we will ask you to have a further review appointment after 6 months as this is initially considered as a ‘trial of treatment’ to see whether you benefit from it. Depending on whether your GP is then able to take over your care you may need an annual review or you may also choose to stay under the care of the clinic.
We firmly believe that as three sex hormones oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone commonly decline during menopause, then all three should be considered for replacement.
If your symptoms indicate that a trial of testosterone treatment is indicated then we will usually ask you to have baseline blood levels before prescribing testosterone. This is to confirm that you do have low levels of testosterone. Testosterone treatment is currently prescribed ‘off license’ in the UK for female use.
We follow the British Menopause Society guidelines for the prescribing and monitoring of testosterone and you can read them here (and share them with your GP if you feel that they may be interested). There are several preparations available and we will go through these during your consultation to establish which one is most suitable for you.
https://thebms.org.uk/publications/tools-for-clinicians/testosterone-replacement-in-menopause/
Bio identical HRT is not regulated and is not endorsed by the British Menopause Society so we do not prescribe it at the clinic.
We will email you a letter after your consultation detailing our recommendations. This will also be emailed to your GP if you have provided consent for us to do so.
You can also print a copy of your letter off to give to your GP if they do not have email access.
Letters will not be created after a short telephone appointment unless specifically requested. In this case there will be a £30 charge.
We will issue a list of evidence based resources at your first appointment and would encourage you to visit these first. We do not feel that consulting via email is optimal and it also goes against current guidelines. Therefore we will only answer straightforward enquiries in this way. If you have questions we will either advise that you book a short charged telephone call or you can bring your review appointment forwards.
We will endeavor to answer your questions in this way within 7 working days. This may be longer if your clinician is on annual leave.
We do not provide emergency care and request that you contact your GP or the emergency services if you feel that you need this.
If a prescription is issued during your consultation then there isn’t a dispensing fee. Repeat prescriptions can be ordered via the info@manchestermenopausehive.co.uk email address and for these there will be a £30 dispensing fee. These will usually be for 3 months at a time. You will need to clearly indicate the HRT preparations that you need and the number of items. If you have not been seen by the clinic for your review appointments, had up to date monitoring blood tests as advised or request an item that you haven’t previously been prescribed then these will not be issued.
If your symptoms have presented over the age of 45 then you do not need blood tests to confirm that you are peri/menopausal. Blood tests are advised to confirm a diagnosis in those under the age of 40 where a diagnosis of Premature Ovarian Insufficiency is being considered and we will advise on which are appropriate during the consultation.
It can sometimes be helpful to monitor oestradiol levels in individual cases and if testosterone is considered we advise baseline levels and ongoing monitoring.
If we feel that you may have other health conditions where blood tests would be helpful we may ask you to contact your GP in regard to these. We do not ask your GP to monitor your HRT blood levels whilst you are under our care as in many areas they do not have access to those that are required.
We use a laboratory called Nationwide Pathology. Once a form has been generated from the clinic you can contact them on 01858571322 to book an appointment with one of their phlebotomists. The costs of the blood tests are included in our pricing policy and you will be advised of the phlebotomy charge when booking with them. They have over 150 centres across the UK and may also be able to send a phlebotomist to your home address. Blood test results will be discussed at your review appointments unless you opt to book a charged telephone call to discuss them sooner.
We may recommend additional investigations from time to time such as ultrasound scans of the womb lining or DEXA bone density scans etc.