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Endocrinology Service | Auckland | Te Toka Tumai

Public Service, Endocrinology

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Description

What is Endocrinology ? 
Endocrinology is a speciality that evaluates and treats suspected endocrine gland and metabolic bone disorders.  Glands that secrete hormones directly into the blood stream include the pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenals, ovaries and testes.  Diabetes is a disorder of pancreatic gland secretion but is managed as a separate speciality.  Common metabolic bone disorders include osteoporosis and Paget's disease.  
 
An endocrinologist is one who specialises in this area of medicine.  
 
If you wish to view information about the Diabetes service, please click on the link to the ADHB Diabetes Service.
 

Staff

Endocrine Nurses
  • Valerie Cheetham
  • Joanna Champion-Young
  • Pamela Ortigoza
  • Avrilette Velez
  • Jasmine Wu
  • Sacha Bouwmeester

Fracture Liaison Nurse
  • Jenny Watson
  • Vivienne Josephs
  • April Manuel

Team Administrator

  • Gorretti Rodrigues

Consultants

Doctors

Referral Expectations

Urgent problems

Those that are severe enough to require hospitalisation are rare. They require referral by your General Practitioner (GP) to the consultant or registrar who will decide the most appropriate management. 

Non-urgent problems

These are actioned by the GP writing a letter to the Endocrinology Department of your local DHB, requesting an appointment. 

When you come to the Department, you will be assessed by either a specialist or trainee registrar or in some cases, with your consent, by a senior student doctor or trainee intern, supervised by a senior doctor. 

New clinic appointments last for 40 minutes.  The process involves taking a history of your presenting condition, a general history and review of medications, examination and appropriate tests. 

New patient clinics

General endocrine disorders are held on Mondays.

Thyroid conditions on Wednesday mornings. 

Metabolic bone disorders on Wednesday afternoons and Friday mornings.

Outpatient radioiodine treatment is provided in the Radiation Oncology Department at Auckland Hospital on Thursday afternoons. 

Additional follow-up clinics are held on Mon and Wed mornings and Wednesday afternoons. Appointments are 20 minutes. 

Endocrine Nurse Specialists

Arrange special testing in the Outpatient Unit here at Greenlane for both paediatric and adult patients throughout the Auckland region.  In general these are tests of specific endocrine organs and may be supplemented by targeted endocrine treatments. 

Waiting times for nurse, clinic, procedures or treatments is up to 2 weeks but can be arranged within 24 hours. Most of these clinics are situated at Greenlane Clinical Centre. 

Waiting Times

The waiting time for new patient appointments is 2-12 weeks. If urgent, then consultation can be arranged sooner by interaction with your doctor. On occasions, less urgent problems may take up to 4 months.  

Scheduling for Bone Density Scans

These are performed at Greenlane Clinical Centre following direct referral from your GP or specialist. Sometimes you will be asked to have a bone density scan before your visit to the bone clinic.

Contacting the Department

If possible please give your hospital number which enables your enquiry to be met accurately. At each visit to the clinic we will ask you to verify phone and email contact details. 

Prescriptions

In general, we expect regular maintenance prescriptions to be provided by your GP. There are two good reasons for this.  

First, your GP and pharmacist have the most reliable and up to date listing of your exact drug list. 

Second, as part of Government policy,  prescriptions from your GP may be cheaper from your GP than from a hospital consultant. 

On occasions 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/or your referring doctor, summarising the result of the visit. Letter content depends on the interpretation of test results and therefore may take 2 to 4 weeks to reach your GP. 

Who can be referred?

Those persons who live in the Waitematā or Counties Manukau Districts are usually referred to their local DHB. 

Individuals with complex endocrine disorders in the judgement of their local endocrinologist, may be on-referred to the Greenlane Clinical Centre service.   

Prioritising referrals

  • The average waiting time before an appointment at a clinic ranges from 2 weeks to 4 months, depending on urgency 
  • You may be asked to undergo some tests or fill in a questionnaire 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) or a supervised senior student doctor.  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 written advice from the specialist
  • This is done by senior medical staff who review the referral notes from your doctor.

Hours

Mon – Fri 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Procedures / Treatments

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a progressive aging disorder that weakens bones. Osteoporosis itself is not painful but it makes bones more fracture-prone. Women are more likely than men to suffer from osteoporosis. Tests Osteoporosis can be diagnosed by measuring bone mineral density (BMD). This test involves taking x-rays of the bones in your spine and hip usually. You may be asked to have a blood test to look for reasons why you might have osteoporosis or for monitoring the response to treatment. Treatment There is no cure for osteoporosis, but there are treatments that can improve bone strength and thereby reduce the chance of fracture. If you are diagnosed with osteoporosis you may be prescribed several medications to improve your bone strength. These include drugs that reduce bone resorption called bisphosphonates. You will have follow-up with your GP or specialist to make sure that the medication suits you. You will be given some more detailed reading about what you can do to help manage your osteoporosis and about the type of medication you are on. Further information can be found on the Osteoporosis New Zealand website at http://www.bones.org.nz/ Zoledronate Patient Information Sheet (PDF, 36.5 KB)
 Osteoporosis is a progressive aging disorder that weakens bones. Osteoporosis itself is not painful but it makes bones more fracture-prone.  Women are more likely than men to suffer from osteoporosis.   
 
Tests
Osteoporosis can be diagnosed by measuring bone mineral density (BMD). This test involves taking x-rays of the bones in your spine and hip usually. You may be asked to have a blood test to look for reasons why you might have osteoporosis or for monitoring the response to treatment.
 
Treatment
There is no cure for osteoporosis, but there are treatments that can improve bone strength and thereby reduce the chance of fracture. 
 
If you are diagnosed with osteoporosis you may be prescribed several medications to improve your bone strength. These include drugs that reduce bone resorption called bisphosphonates. You will have follow-up with your GP or specialist to make sure that the medication suits you. You will be given some more detailed reading about what you can do to help manage your osteoporosis and about the type of medication you are on.
 
Further information can be found on the Osteoporosis New Zealand website at http://www.bones.org.nz/
 
Thyroid Disorders

The thyroid is a gland that sits in the front of the neck. It is responsible for producing a hormone called thyroxine. Thyroxine has an important role in the body as it affects many organs including the heart, muscles and bones. Diseases that affect the thyroid can make it either overactive (producing too much thyroxine), underactive (not producing enough thyroxine) or enlarged (goitre). Endocrinologists specialise in these diseases as well as cancer of the thyroid. Tests Thyroid dysfunction, whether under or overactive, is usually picked up with a blood test. Other tests may be required for thyroid enlargement or goitre. These include: An ultrasound scan. This is where a hand-held scanner is passed over your thyroid gland and pictures are taken A nuclear medicine scintiscan. This is where you are given a marker by intravenous injection that is selectively taken up by the thyroid gland. Although it is radioactive it does not damage you or anyone else. Pictures are then taken of the thyroid gland that give the doctor information about what might be causing the problem Fine needle aspirate (FNA). This is where the doctor puts a very fine needle (smaller than for a blood test) into the thyroid gland to take some cells to look at under the microscope. Further details about the Greenlane clinic and specific thyroid disorders are contained in the following document. Please click on the link My Thyroid Gland The American Thyroid Association link is http://www.thyroid.org/ My Thyroid Gland (PDF, 97.5 KB)

The thyroid is a gland that sits in the front of the neck.  It is responsible for producing a hormone called thyroxine.  Thyroxine has an important role in the body as it affects many organs including the heart, muscles and bones.  Diseases that affect the thyroid can make it either overactive (producing too much thyroxine), underactive (not producing enough thyroxine) or enlarged (goitre).  Endocrinologists specialise in these diseases as well as cancer of the thyroid.

Tests
Thyroid dysfunction, whether under or overactive, is usually picked up with a blood test. Other tests may be required for thyroid enlargement or goitre. These include:
  • An ultrasound scan.  This is where a hand-held scanner is passed over your thyroid gland and pictures are taken
  • A nuclear medicine scintiscan.  This is where you are given a marker by intravenous injection that is selectively taken up by the thyroid gland.  Although it is radioactive it does not damage you or anyone else.  Pictures are then taken of the thyroid gland that give the doctor information about what might be causing the problem
  • Fine needle aspirate (FNA). This is where the doctor puts a very fine needle (smaller than for a blood test) into the thyroid gland to take some cells to look at under the microscope.

Further details about the Greenlane clinic and specific thyroid disorders are contained in the following document. Please click on the link My Thyroid Gland

The American Thyroid Association link is http://www.thyroid.org/

Pituitary Gland

The pituitary gland in the base of the brain controls most of the other endocrine systems. When disorders occur in this gland a variety of problems can appear. If your GP thinks you have problems in this area, usually suggested by blood tests, they may refer you to an endocrinologist. If a pituitary gland swelling (= adenoma ) is identified, surgical removal may be advised. An outline of the location of the pituitary gland, the general nature of surgery and the possible hormone deficiencies that may require treatment are outlined in the following document. Please click on the link My Pituitary Gland. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/endocrine-diseases useful link to various pituitary and other endocrine disorders. My Pituitary Gland (PDF, 539.4 KB)

The pituitary gland in the base of the brain controls most of the other endocrine systems.  When disorders occur in this gland a variety of problems can appear.  If your GP thinks you have problems in this area, usually suggested by blood tests, they may refer you to an endocrinologist.

If a pituitary gland swelling (= adenoma ) is identified, surgical removal may be advised. An outline of the location of the pituitary gland, the general nature of surgery and the possible hormone deficiencies that may require treatment are outlined in the following document. Please click on the link My Pituitary Gland.
 
https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/endocrine-diseases useful link to various pituitary and other endocrine disorders.
 
Diabetes (diabetes mellitus)

For detail on diabetic management and referral information please click here to take you to their site.
For detail on diabetic management and referral information please click here to take you to their site.
Adrenal Insufficiency - Addison's disease

An uncommon disorder usually caused by autoimmune destruction of the adrenal glands that leads to a dependence on hydrocortisone and fludrocortisone tablets for essential hormones that need to be taken life-long. There are excellent patient support networks in New Zealand and in the UK that give detailed information about all aspects of living with Addison's disease. http://www.addisons.org.uk/index.html UK

An uncommon disorder usually caused by autoimmune destruction of the adrenal glands that leads to a dependence on hydrocortisone and fludrocortisone tablets for essential hormones that need to be taken life-long. There are excellent patient support networks in New Zealand and in the UK that give detailed information about all aspects of living with Addison's disease.

http://www.addisons.org.uk/index.html  UK

Document Downloads

Visiting Hours

Not applicable as this is an outpatient service.

Refreshments

Details about available refreshments, transport, pharmacy and other specific detail about provision of service at the Greenlane Clinical Centre location is available on the location page. Please click here on the Greenlane Clinical Centre location page

Other

Website

www.adhb.health.nz/

Contact Details

Greenlane Clinical Centre

Central Auckland

 

  • Appointment Enquiries - (09) 307 4949
    • Ext 26460 - Thyroid/Endo/Bone Clinic Scheduler

 

214 Green Lane West
One Tree Hill
Auckland 1051

Information about this location

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Get directions

Street Address

214 Green Lane West
One Tree Hill
Auckland 1051

Postal Address

Private Bag 92 189
Auckland Mail Centre
Auckland 1142

This page was last updated at 11:33AM on October 9, 2024. This information is reviewed and edited by Endocrinology Service | Auckland | Te Toka Tumai.