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Dr Ivan Ratnayake 2019-10-22 Person 3 5 0

Dr Ivan was always very, very helpful to me and my children up until I started to struggle with the menopause. He was always very supportive, he listened, was kind and gentle in his approach and always helped where he could. I would leave his surgery feeling heard and cared for, confident in his treatments. Prior to Dr Ivan I always made a point of having a female GP so have gone to other GPs in the practice for menopause support, but on two occasions I have had to see Dr Ivan and on each occasion a question was answered with 'I don't know' with no intention of finding out. I had just started HRT and was feeling dreadful (very light headed and couldn't drive) so was asking for help about what to do. He didn't know and showed no inclination to find out and help. The way he lectured me, quite aggressively, on the second occasion about another menopause related condition made me feel like a stupid old woman. I will not be seeing Dr Ivan again. The menopause is hardly touched upon during GP training and seeing that 50% of patients will go through this, often with severe symptoms that badly affect the quality of a woman's life, it is really important that GPs keep up to date with the latest information available. Please make an effort Dr Ivan to understand how the menopause can affect women and what you can do to help and support your female patients. A good place to start is a website called The Menopause Doctor, which is officially recognised by the NHS as a source of reference for GPs. Women Matter.