Louise Newson: TV menopause doctor concerns probed by watchdog

The clinic’s email response included a price list, and made it clear she would have to pay for any follow-up appointments.

Rachel replied saying she’d had several consultations with Newson Health, her symptoms had become worse, and she had been having a difficult time. As a courtesy, she says, they gave her a free 10-minute call with a pharmacist.

In the end, she says she went to her GP, who eventually referred her to a team of NHS specialists who diagnosed her with endometrial hyperplasia – a change in the lining of the womb, which can lead to cancer.

Prof Janice Rymer, consultant gynaecologist at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust – and chair of the BMS – believes Rachel’s womb changes were due to her treatment by Newson Health.

“I’ve never, ever prescribed that dose of oestrogen to anybody, and that dose of progesterone would not have been enough to counteract the effect of oestrogen on the lining of her womb.”

One of the former Newson Health doctors spoken to by Panorama said she felt the solution to reported issues “was always to prescribe HRT or to increase the dose of oestrogen”.

Another told us they believed Dr Newson had changed the face of menopause care “for the better” – but they wished she would “pause and reflect, accept help and collaborate for the overall better health of women going forward”.

Newson Health told us it “strongly refutes” the “characterisations” from the former doctors we spoke to. It says that it operates a “responsible audit practice” to ensure “patient safety and consistent levels of care”.

It also said that it “would not comment on individual cases” but operates a “shared decision-making framework”, as provided by NICE – the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence – and “adheres to the GMC’s guidelines for decision-making and consent”.

Rachel, who is still experiencing debilitating symptoms from the menopause, is slowly lowering her oestrogen dose, with the hope that will reduce the thickening of her womb and, in turn, reduce the risk of cancer.

If that doesn’t work, she has been advised she may need a hysterectomy.

“I’m scared,” she says. “Although I want it over and done with and finished, you know, a hysterectomy is not an easy surgery.”

Additional reporting by Kevin Anderson