Warwick Hospital gynaecologist says he and colleagues applaud exposé on Newson Health
A SOUTH Warwickshire gynaecologist said he and his colleagues applauded an exposé of Newson Health this week following claims it was routinely giving women high-dose oestrogen treatments.
The company offers private hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to alleviate symptoms of the menopause and perimenopause, such as hot flushes and mood swings. It was established by Dr Louise Newson in 2018 at a stylish clinic in Church Street, Stratford.
A BBC Panorama investigation, which aired on Monday, highlighted concerns over high-dose oestrogen treatments, and also the company’s focus on money.
Women pay £195-£295 per initial consultation; then £165-£230 for a follow up; plus the costs of tests, prescription and medication. The business has expanded rapidly, and there are now nine Newson Health clinics in England. In 2023, the company had a turnover of £14 million.
Dr Newson styles herself as ‘The Menopause Doctor’. She is currently on a 34-night theatre tour, has written books, regularly appears on TV, is a member of the government’s Menopause Taskforce and has teamed up with celebrities such as Davina McCall to raise awareness about symptoms and advocate for hormone use and supplements.
Newson Health says it has helped 40,000 women deal with menopausal symptoms.
Many women credit her and the business with improving, and even saving, their lives after they say they struggled to find timely or appropriate treatment under the NHS from their GP.
However, after watching the Panorama broadcast on Monday night, Dr Karl Oláh, a consultant at Warwick Hospital specialising
in gynaecological cancer and minimal access surgery, told the Herald: “My general reaction was ‘it’s about time’. The programme was a good account of what every gynaecologist in the West Midlands has been saying for over five years but, in large part, been too afraid to voice out loud.”
In its report, the BBC said it had spoken to more than a dozen patients from Newson Health who experienced complications after treatment, with some developing a thickening of their womb linings, a potential precursor to cancer.
One woman said that, despite her HRT dose from Newson Health being three times the licensed maximum amount, her menopause symptoms had worsened.
Dr Oláh, who has worked in gynaecology for 30 years and is also an editor for the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, said: “My concerns with the Newson clinic go back over five years as a result of the number of women that I was seeing with irregular bleeding on HRT.
“The Newson clinic approach was to give very high doses of oestrogen with a progesterone that could not cope with the increased ‘workload’, and often the use of testosterone– usually without good reason. There has been an increase in the number of women undergoing operative procedures to investigate bleeding in the menopause.”
Four former Newson Health doctors also voiced concerns to Panorama, with one warning that women could “come to harm”.
Dr Oláh added he was alarmed by what he heard on the programme.
“One thing that was said by a Newson GP was ‘it’s not a drug, it’s a hormone’. This was supposed to allay any fears for an escalating dose. But hormones are very powerful agents, and could be argued to be much more dangerous than most drugs.
“Oestrogen given to a woman with an intact uterus will cause cancer if not properly opposed by a dose of progesterone,” warned Dr Oláh.
“High levels of oestrogen used by the Newson team would result in hyperplasia (benign overactivity) and eventually cancer if left untreated.
“Add to this the testosterone given to women attending the Newson clinic – this is broken down to even more oestrogen.”
He added: “One patient from the Newson clinic was admitted to hospital by one of my colleagues at Heartlands Hospital with a blood oestrogen level so high that she was afraid she was going to have a stroke. Yet the patient was advised to keep increasing her oestrogen dosage until her symptoms went.”
Authorities are taking the claims about Newson seriously, with the British Menopause Society confirming it had removed Dr Newson from its “online menopause specialist register as a result of concerns that aspects of her practice did not accord with established guidance”.
In addition the health regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has said it is investigating “information of concern” relating to Dr Newson’s clinics.
Although she has put the menopause in the spotlight, Dr Oláh said he thought that Dr Newson had done more harm than good.
“The menopause is very important, as with the baby boom cohort reaching menopause, we have a lot of women requiring help. However, they need proper help, and not something that is going to cause them more harm. This is why it is important that anyone managing the menopause understands the pathophysiology of the female reproductive tract.
“Dr Newson has a lot of supporters. But my own view, and also a couple of people who have worked with her, is that menopause for her is a cash cow.”
He continued: “The endless publicity and appearances on TV were just a way of advertising her brand.”
In response to the Panorama programme and concerns raised by Dr Oláh, Newson Health gave the Herald the following statement:
“It is essential to safeguard a diverse range of informed views within medicine and, as the UK’s leading menopause clinic, Newson Health utilises a wealth of clinical experience and data, as well as the available scientific evidence, to treat every patient on an individualised basis and provide the best possible menopause care. Newson Health collates this valuable information to contribute rich data to scientific journals and leading medical conferences. This is particularly important in an area of health that is chronically underfunded, undervalued and under-researched.
“With over three decades of clinical experience, Dr Louise Newson is a respected women’s hormone specialist with a background in pathology and general practice. She is a member of the Royal College of Physicians, a Fellow of the Royal College of GPs, a Visiting Fellow at Cambridge, a regular contributor to academic journals including the Lancet and the British Journal of General Practice, and was recently awarded an honorary doctorate of health from Bradford University. “Dr Newson has made it her life’s work to increase access to menopause care and education for all women.”
The gynaecologist’s view: Dr Karl Oláh
1. High doses of oestrogen should not be used in women with an intact uterus without correct supervision and blood monitoring.
2. Testosterone should not be routinely prescribed in women who have not had their ovaries removed.
3. Endometrial cancer: women with endometrial cancer should very rarely be given HRT as endometrial cancer is oestrogen dependent. IF it is considered, the stage, grade and oestrogen receptor status of the tumour should be taken into account and discussed with an oncologist
4. Breast cancer: women with breast cancer are similar in that they are often oestrogen dependent. Histological type, stage, grade and receptor status needs to be considered.
Where to get HRT help
“My advice to women would be to start with their GP. Referrals to gynaecologists can take some time, but there are plenty of private gynaecologists who are happy to discuss HRT issues. I no longer do private work so that not a plug! I would make sure that any private consultants have menopause as an interest though. For the more complex menopause issues I would recommend the specialist menopause clinics at UHCW, and one at Birmingham Women’s hospital. Both are run by accredited and properly qualified menopause experts. “
