Dr Gill McCarthy

Professional statement

Dr Gill McCarthy is a well-respected consultant physician in sexual health and HIV (formerly called Genitourinary or GU Medicine) with over three decades of experience in the speciality. Her areas of expertise encompass the management of all genital infections in both men and women. These include sexually transmitted infections as well as recurrent thrush, bacterial vaginosis (BV) and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). She also has a particular interest in genital skin and genital pain conditions in men and women. Dr McCarthy practises at New Victoria Hospital in South West London.

After qualifying in Medicine from the Royal Free Hospital, Dr McCarthy pursued training in general medicine and general practice in London and Bristol. She undertook speciality training in sexual health and HIV at Chelsea Westminster and University College London hospitals. In 1995, Dr McCarthy was appointed as a consultant at Kingston Hospital, where she established the highly regarded Sexual Health & HIV service at the Wolverton Centre.

Dr McCarthy has extensive experience in treating a broad spectrum of genital conditions and infections, affecting both men and women, whether sexually transmitted or not. Her subspecialty interests include genital dermatology such as Lichen sclerosus and managing painful genital conditions including vulvodynia, vaginismus, and vaginal dryness in women, and chronic pelvic pain syndrome (previously called prostatitis) in men. Dr McCarthy believes in a holistic approach to managing sexual difficulties and works closely with a physiotherapist and clinical psychologist. Dr McCarthy has contributed to the speciality through her membership of the British Association of Sexual Health & HIV (BASHH) Clinical Effectiveness Group and was responsible for editing national guidelines including pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).

Dr McCarthy is also a dedicated educator, having taught extensively on all aspects of sexual health and HIV.  She is passionate about medical education and training the next generation of doctors. She was College Tutor for Medicine and then Director of Medical Education at Kingston Hospital where she was responsible for the training of 230 resident doctors. Beyond her clinical work, Dr McCarthy has held several senior management positions at Kingston Hospital, including Clinical Director of the Sexual Health & HIV service until 2020.