Community based menopause clinics: Providing access to menopause support and reducing waiting times
Thursday, 30 January 2025
Women in Sefton will now benefit from easier access to specialist menopause support delivered by trained GPs in an expansion of a new menopause primary care collaboration pilot.
What has happened so far?
In 2024, Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust and Liverpool Central Primary Care Network worked together to provide additional menopause clinics to the people of Central Liverpool.
This 6-month pilot aimed to see Liverpool Women's patients waiting for their first Menopause appointment closer to home at clinics in Central Liverpool. Liverpool Women’s clinics also continued during this time.
There were 24 monthly community-based appointment slots per month delivered by Menopause trained GPs. Liverpool Women’s Menopause consultants also provided support and mentorship to these GPs.
Cheshire and Merseyside Acute and Specialist Provider Collaborative (CMAST) supported to formally evaluate the pilot and outcomes were shared widely. Thanks to the positive feedback provided by the patients who attended the clinics and the reduction in waiting times, these clinics have been able to continue after the initial 6-month timescale.
What are we doing next?
We have reviewed the feedback from patients, and we are about to launch clinics within the Sefton area. These new clinics are a partnership between Sefton Primary Care Network and Liverpool Women's and continue to be supported by Cheshire and Merseyside Acute and Specialist Provider Collaborative. These additional clinics will support women to access menopause clinics closer to home.
From February 2025 there will be an additional 48 Menopause appointments in Sefton per month. From March 2025 we expect this number of additional appointments to increase. These clinics are for patients already referred to Liverpool Women's. Appointments will be given to patients in order of their waiting time. All these appointments will support seeing patients already referred to Liverpool Women’s to be seen sooner.
Patient experience remains at the heart of delivering these clinics. All patients will be provided several options to tell us about their experience. This will support us to make improvements to the service.
In the summer, we are also planning to hold group consultations and group education events. Group consultations will be for patients who are waiting for a follow-up appointment. Group education events will offer patients and their family and friends to attend to learn more about menopause care.
We look forward to telling you about how these clinics go and what our patients have told us about their experience.
Paula Briggs, Consultant in Sexual and Reproductive Health at Liverpool Women's and past Chair of the British Menopause Society said:
“Menopause care should be provided to all women and should be easily accessible. By expanding this pilot programme to the Sefton area, we will be able to provide additional support services to women who have menopause concerns. Most importantly, these services will be provided by appropriately trained and supported GPs, in an accessible location that is closer to home.”