Recommendation 2

HM Government Accepted in Part

18. The government accepts this recommendation in part. 19. It is the government’s ambition, as set out in the Women’s Health Strategy, that healthcare professionals in primary care are well informed about the menopause, and able to offer women evidence-based advice and treatment options, including HRT and alternatives. Training for General Practitioners 20. There are existing national frameworks to support the education and continuing professional development of doctors, including General Practitioners (GPs). 21. Undergraduate medical curricula for people training to be doctors are set by individual medical schools, with the General Medical Council’s (GMC) outcomes for graduates11 ensuring that all doctors have the requisite set of skills required to progress into the next stage of training. The GMC will also be introducing the Medical Licensing Assessment12 for the majority of incoming doctors, including all medical students graduating in academic year 2024 to 2025 and onwards. The content for this assessment will be drawn from the GMC’s Medical Licensing Assessment content map, which includes key topics relating to women’s health including menopause.13 This will encourage a better understanding of women’s health among doctors as they start their careers in the UK. 22. All UK registered doctors are expected to meet the professional standards set out in the GMC’s Good Medical Practice. In 2012, the GMC introduced revalidation which supports doctors in regularly reflecting on how they can develop or improve their practice, gives patients confidence doctors are up to date with their practice and promotes improved quality of care by driving improvements in clinical governance. 23. The training curricula for postgraduate trainee doctors is set by the relevant medical Royal College and must meet the standards set by the GMC. Whilst curricula do not necessarily highlight specific conditions for doctors to be aware of, they instead emphasise the skills and approaches that a doctor must develop to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients. 24. The Royal College of General Practitioners has a holistic curriculum of training that all GPs must cover before they are able to pass the examination to become a member of the Royal College of General Practitioners and work independently as a GP. There is a specific section on women’s health, including the menopause. As a result, the menopause is already a core competency of all qualified GPs. 25. GPs are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge remains up-to-date and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development. This includes taking account of new research and developments in guidance, such as that produced by NICE, to ensure that they can continue to provide high quality care to all patients. Additional non-mandatory training is available to support GPs.The Royal College of General Practitioners has also developed a women’s health toolkit which aims to support practising GPs. This resource is continually updated to ensure GPs have the most up-to-date advice to provide the best care for their patients. Within the toolkit there is a section on ‘Menopause and beyond’14. 26. The Royal College of General Practitioners regularly review training provision and requirements for GPs. The government cannot respond on behalf of the Royal College of General Practitioners; however, the Royal College of General Practitioners position is that mandating menopause training is not necessary. 27. It is not within the remit of central government to require that one member of clinical staff in every GP surgery has training on menopause. As set out above, menopause care is a core competency of all qualified GPs. 28. However, education and training for healthcare professionals is another important part of the NHS England National Menopause Care Improvement Programme. As part of this, NHS England is working with Health Education England and other stakeholders to develop content that will support delivery of training and awareness raising amongst healthcare professionals. This includes: i. Developing an optimal pathway for patients to support the primary care NHS workforce to deliver menopause care. ii. Creating non-mandatory webinars on how the workforce might be supported during menopause, starting with the NHS workforce. iii. Creating non-mandatory webinars on the effect of menopause on oral health. 29. NHS England is also working with Wellbeing of Women to develop an awareness-raising package among key healthcare professionals, for example, those who carry out health checks and pharmacists, to ensure more women are advised to seek support earlier in their menopause. 30. Furthermore, as set out in the Women’s Health Strategy, the Women’s Health Ambassador will work with regulators, professional group leaders, Royal Colleges and other stakeholders to improve healthcare professional education and training on wome