What is Endocrinology?
Endocrinology is a medical specialty which evaluates and treats suspected endocrine gland disorders. Endocrine glands produce hormones; these hormones are chemicals produced by one part of the body but may have their action elsewhere.
Your endocrinologist is a specialist doctor interested in diseases that affect your hormones. The major areas endocrinologists work in are:
• diabetes
• osteoporosis & Paget’s disease
• thyroid diseases
• sex hormone imbalances
• disorders of growth and development
• disorders of the pituitary gland.
Who do we see?
We see all adults with an endocrine problem. Children and adolescents are seen in the Paediatric Department.
Where are we situated?
The Endocrine Clinic is situated on Level 3, NZ Blood Service Building. Access is from Hospital Road. Click here for directions to the Endocrine Department.
Parking at the Endocrine Department
There is limited pay and display parking available for patients in front of the NZ Blood Service Building.
Please use those spaces marked 'For Endocrine Patients' (not Blood Donor Spaces).
- You will be referred by your General Practitioner (GP) or other hospital specialist to an endocrinologist if you have a problem with any part of your endocrine system (the system that makes hormones). Your referral will be prioritised (given a position on a list of other referrals) depending on the disease and its severity.
- The average waiting time before an appointment at a clinic ranges from 2 weeks to 4 months, depending on priority.
- You may be asked to undergo some tests before seeing the doctor in the clinic to help with the diagnosis.
- You will see either a specialist or a registrar (a doctor training to become a specialist who works under the supervision of a specialist). There are also specialist nurses who may be involved with your appointment and ongoing treatment.
- You may have ongoing follow-up in the clinic or have your treatment carried out by your GP with advice from the specialist.
Prescriptions
In general, we expect regular maintenance prescriptions to be provided by your GP. There are two good reasons for this:
- firstly, your GP and pharmacist have the most reliable and up-to-date listing of your exact drug list
- secondly, as part of Government policy, prescriptions may be cheaper from your GP than from a hospital consultant.
On occasion however, a new or changed medication is prescribed directly from the clinic or is recommended to your GP by letter after your visit.
Consultations
Following your visit to the hospital with a first or follow-up visit, a letter is sent to your GP and referring doctor, summarising the result of the visit. Letter content depends on the interpretation of test results and therefore may take two to four weeks to reach your GP.
-
Thyroid Disorders
The thyroid is a gland that sits in the front, and towards the bottom, of your neck. It is responsible for producing a hormone called thyroxine. Thyroxine is important in regulating your metabolic rate. Diseases that affect the thyroid can make it either overactive (producing too much thyroxine), underactive (not...
More
-
Pituitary Gland
The pituitary gland is about the size of a pea and is situated in a bony hollow beneath the base of your brain just below the bridge of your nose. It controls most of the endocrine (hormone) systems in your body. When disorders occur in this gland a variety of...
More
-
Adrenal Disorders
The adrenal glands are situated just above your kidneys. These glands produce hormones. Endocrinologists see conditions where there is either over- or underproduction of these hormones...
More
-
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
PCOS is a hormonal disorder that affects 5 -10% of women of reproductive age...
More
-
Disorders of Reproduction
There are a number of conditions that can result in irregular or absent periods. As well as PCOS (see above) and prolactinomas (see above under Pituitary Disorders), emotional stress, weight loss and intensive exercise can all result in irregular or absent periods...
More
-
Calcium and Bone Metabolism (including Osteoporosis)
Osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a disease that causes your bones to thin...
More
-
Turner's Syndrome
Turner's syndrome is a chromosome abnormality that affects only females. It may be detected at birth, during childhood due to failure to grow at a normal rate, or later when there is a failure of the pubertal growth spurt and failure to develop secondary sexual characteristics...
More
-
Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia (MEN)
This term covers a variety of rare inherited endocrine disorders...
More
-
Klinefelter's Syndrome
This is a relatively common condition estimated to affect one man in 500 and results in a number of problems including low testosterone levels...
More
-
Hydrocortisone Replacement
Your body is dependent on the production of steroids (cortisol) to function. If your body is not producing enough steroids (as assessed by a blood test) you will be asked to start on hydrocortisone tablets...
More
Our Registrars are
Damon Bell
John Wilson
Our Endocrine Nurse Educators are:
Di Cordwell
Ingrid McEnaney
Our Endocrine Administrator is:
Elizabeth Tease
