At Woosehill Medical Centre we regularly review our safe-prescribing policy. As a result of a recent assessment, we will no longer be prescribing testosterone to peri and post menopausal women, if requested by either the NHS or private menopause clinic.

Testosterone is often trialed by specialist doctors as treatment for low sex drive associated with menopause, when HRT alone has not helped. However, testosterone is currently not licensed in the U.K to treat symptoms of low sex drive in women.

At present, with testosterone use there is a lack of long term safety data for cardiovascular and breast outcomes. It can have unwanted side effects of excess hair growth, acne and weight gain. As GPs we do not have the required expertise to prescribe an unlicensed product, which has limited evidence of its safety.

The specialist doctor recommending testosterone will be responsible for providing the prescriptions, monitoring blood results along with continued yearly review. The specialist will need to make arrangements for sending out scripts and blood forms, so that the test results are sent directly back to the prescribing doctor, as is the requirement based on Good Medical Practice by GMC.

The blood tests can be booked at Royal Berkshire Hospital or Brants Bridge by following the link below.

• Online Appointment Healthcare Platform – Swiftqueue