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[Mintea]

My GP gave me the choice of 2 places for menopause advice both in private hospitals. It seems that there is 1 female gynaecologist at both (the same one) who runs womens health clinics and specialises in menopause and other womens health issues as well as gynae procedures, family planning etc.

Following Hurditys advice (thankyou) I have searched on the BMS site to see if she is a member and her name does not come up. 
But on the info re consultants on the hospital website  it states she is a member of the BMS!  This is a bit a bit concerning. I have messaged the BMS for clarification of her status.

I'm not sure whether to chance seeing her or not. She runs regular womens health clinics and states expertise in menopause and other areas.

The only other choice for me would be to go back to the GP and ask referral to the NHS menopause clinic which is in the same city but not as easy to get to. Also I suspect they will have long waiting lists and may not take referrals from my area.

Another option would be to go private(rather not because of cost but there is someone advertising very close to where I live who is a BMS member).
Sorry for the long post but grateful for any advice/thoughts.

[dangermouse]

You can be a member of the BMS but not be on their practitioners list, if they don't meet all criteria or there maybe tiers of membership where you pay more to be on that list.

Perhaps checking shes on the GMC would be more appropriate, if you are concerned about her qualifications.

[Dotty]

If you type her name into the search bar on here you might find some posts about her. x

[Mintea]

If you type her name into the search bar on here you might find some posts about her. x

Good idea, I'll try that thanks

Mintea x

[Mintea]

You can be a member of the BMS but not be on their practitioners list, if they don't meet all criteria or there maybe tiers of membership where you pay more to be on that list.

Perhaps checking shes on the GMC would be more appropriate, if you are concerned about her qualifications.

I am more concerned about her possible approach to treating menopause as I've read a lot of posts on here about women who have seen gynaecologists who dont seem to know what they're doing. Also the general advice has been to see someone who is a member of the BSA. I would have thought that most practitioners dealing with the menopause would want to be part of the BSA to keep up to date   with their practice.
Thanks for your reply
Mintea x

[dangermouse]

Yes that's true, she could be more geared towards fertility.

[Hurdity]

You can be a member of the BMS but not be on their practitioners list, if they don't meet all criteria or there maybe tiers of membership where you pay more to be on that list.

Perhaps checking shes on the GMC would be more appropriate, if you are concerned about her qualifications.

The BMS is not some jolly little club that you can pay to give you more status! Like i said on the **other thread** it is a professional medical and academic society dedicated to menopause and not anyone can join.

Here is how to be on their accredited list:

A BMS recognised menopause specialist is defined as a healthcare professional who has obtained the Faculty of Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH)/ British Menopause Society (BMS) advanced certificate in menopause care, or completed the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (RCOG)/BMS advanced training skills module (ATSM) in menopause care (or equivalent, eg the menopause and premature ovarian insufficiency module of the subspecialty training programme in reproductive medicine) and who:

*  is a member of the British Menopause Society

*  attends a national (BMS) or international menopause society (eg International Menopause Society, European Menopause and Andropause Society) scientific conference at least once every three years

*  provides a minimum of 100 menopause related consultations per year, of which at least 50 are new

*  is responsible for ensuring that the specialism is documented in their job plan and is discussed and recorded at their annual appraisal in the UK or Ireland.

https://thebms.org.uk/menopause-specialists/overview/

My GP gave me the choice of 2 places for menopause advice both in private hospitals. It seems that there is 1 female gynaecologist at both (the same one) who runs womens health clinics and specialises in menopause and other womens health issues as well as gynae procedures, family planning etc.

Following Hurditys advice (thankyou) I have searched on the BMS site to see if she is a member and her name does not come up. 
But on the info re consultants on the hospital website  it states she is a member of the BMS!  This is a bit a bit concerning. I have messaged the BMS for clarification of her status.

I'm not sure whether to chance seeing her or not. She runs regular womens health clinics and states expertise in menopause and other areas.

The only other choice for me would be to go back to the GP and ask referral to the NHS menopause clinic which is in the same city but not as easy to get to. Also I suspect they will have long waiting lists and may not take referrals from my area.

Another option would be to go private(rather not because of cost but there is someone advertising very close to where I live who is a BMS member).
Sorry for the long post but grateful for any advice/thoughts.

Mintea if you have been referred to this person by your doctor then they should be a member if their advice is to be the best possible. One would expect anyone who is happy to call themselves a specialist would want to have the BMS accreditation as you say (BSA?!!!).

If you google the name of the specialist and/or the establishments they practice from - their credentials should be on their websites or the hopsital's website.

NHS or private, I would want them to be accredited as I certainly would not spend money on a private consultation to see someone who was not BMS accredited.

Hurdity x

[CLKD]

Gynaecologists are that.  They may have 'an interest in womens' health' but that doesn't make any one an expert!  I suppose if you don't try, you won't find out.  Keeping a diary might be useful to take along as well as a list of which symptom you would like to ease first.

'once every 3 years' ............ >shrugs<

[dangermouse]

So as Id said there is criteria for that list on their website, you can be a member and not be on the list.

Who said it was a jolly little club? You do have to pay for some of it though (exams, conferences, membership fees) which there is nothing wrong with. However, some doctors have many of these types of membership to choose to be involved and cannot afford all of them. It doesn't mean they are not going to be interested and knowledgeable about menopause.

[Mintea]

Here is how to be on their accredited list:

A BMS recognised menopause specialist is defined as a healthcare professional who has obtained the Faculty of Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH)/ British Menopause Society (BMS) advanced certificate in menopause care, or completed the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (RCOG)/BMS advanced training skills module

If you google the name of the specialist and/or the establishments they practice from - their credentials should be on their websites or the hopsital's website.

Hurdity x

Her credentials are stated as FSRH but it doesn't say FSRH/BMS advanced certificate in menopause care. Is this likely to be the same thing?

Not sure why I wrote BSA in my post Hurdity. I meant BMS!!

Mintea x

[Hurdity]

Hi Mintea - several of the (NHS) GPs at my local practice have DFSRH and DRCOG so two diplomas in sexual and reproductive health and women's health. And these are nonspecialists. I would expect someone I was being referred to as a specialist to at least have basic additional qualifications but also perhaps more to the point have extensive experience, and credentials in their bio to show their interest and expertise. I don't know what letters you put after your name if you have completed the BMS certification but I would imagine you would want to put it in your blurb! If this is on NHS then go for it but if private then I would want to know a bit more before parting with my dosh! Anyone worth their salt would surely want to publicise a bit more about themselves especially if offering private services?

Hurdity x

[Mintea]

Hi Hurdity

Thanks for your reply.
It is on the NHS. They get paid by the NHS for offering the service  and so there will be no financial cost to me. 
It sounds as if she is likely to be a specialist in 'womens health' which covers a lot as opposed to specifically a specialist in menopause.

As the only alternative would be to see a specialist privately or wait a long while for a referral to an NHS clinic I should probably give her a try but I dont want to be given bad advice that will be sent to my GP as well.

Btw thanks for bringing to my attention that I should be keeping an eye on my fibroid (in another thread I think) I'll bring this up at my next appointment (whenever that may be given the current crisis).

Mintea x

[CLKD]

My personal GP has those letters and was hot on diagnosing my VA when I put in repeated urine tests which when sent to a Lab., didn't grow a bug.  He's is also my age so his Wife is similar so he may have been on a learning curve 

[Mintea]

I've just had a really helpful reply to my query from the BMS. Apparently there are only approximately 140 accredited menopause specialists.  Some doctors can be working at a specialist level and attend conferences and lectures etc to keep up to date but dont fulfill all the criteria required to count as a BMS specialist.
Mintea x