Endocrinologist

An endocrinologist is a consultant physician - a senior hospital doctor - who has specialised in the endocrine system: the network of glands that produce hormones, including the thyroid, pituitary, adrenal glands, and pancreas.

In thyroid care, an endocrinologist typically manages more complex situations: newly diagnosed Graves' disease, people requiring radioactive iodine (RAI), thyroid cancer follow-up, difficult-to-manage hypothyroidism, and cases where results are unusual or hard to interpret.

For many people with straightforward hypothyroidism on a stable levothyroxine dose, a GP manages ongoing care and blood tests without a hospital referral. Whether a referral is appropriate is a conversation to have with your GP.

In some centres, thyroid conditions are also managed by nuclear medicine physicians (who oversee RAI) or thyroid surgeons, often working together as a multidisciplinary team.