Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 38
38
Deferred
Paragraph: 138
Improve undergraduate women's health teaching and incentivise specialisation in reproductive healthcare.
Recommendation
The Government should work with the RCOG, RCGP and the GMC to improve the teaching of women’s health at undergraduate level and ensure it is an integral part of medical education for all those seeking a career in healthcare. As part of that work the Government should consider how to better incentivise healthcare professionals to specialise in women’s reproductive health, including making obstetrics and gynaecology a mandatory rotation. This is necessary to address current shortages in this area and to tackle the long waiting lists for gynaecological care. The merits of using of the quality and outcomes framework (QOF) or commissioning for quality and innovation (CQUIN) indicators should be part of its consideration of potential incentives.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government states the GMC, an independent body, is responsible for setting medical standards and curricula, noting that the GMC's new MLA includes women's health topics. It clarifies that obstetrics and gynaecology is already a mandatory undergraduate rotation, and does not address the recommendation to consider new incentives.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
138
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
It is important that healthcare professionals receive the necessary training to provide the best care possible for women with reproductive health conditions. GMC is the regulator of all medical doctors practising in the UK. GMC - rather than the Royal colleges - sets and enforces the standards that all doctors must adhere to, and is responsible for ensuring that medical professionals have the necessary skills and knowledge to join the UK medical register. GMC is independent of government, directly accountable to Parliament and is responsible for operational matters concerning the discharge of its statutory duties. Individual medical schools set their own curricula, which must meet the standards and expected outcomes set by GMC . GMC has introduced the MLA for the majority of incoming doctors, including all medical students graduating from academic year 2024 to 2025 and onwards. Within this assessment are a number of topics relating to women’s health, including: fibroids endometriosis urinary incontinence This will encourage a better understanding of common women’s health problems among all doctors as they start their careers in the UK. Obstetrics and gynaecology is already a mandatory rotation in undergraduate training. All medical graduates must undertake and complete an integrated 2-year programme of general training in order to practise as a doctor in the UK. The foundation programme consists of foundation year 1 and foundation year 2. The programme acts as a bridge between undergraduate medical training, and specialty and general practice training. This is set by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, and obstetrics and gynaecology is an optional specialty rotation. Curricula for specialty and general practice training is set by the relevant Royal college. Women’s health is also included in RCGP ’s curriculum for trainee GPs, including: gynaecology menopause sexual health breast health The curriculum also covers the healthcare needs of women across all diseases seen in primary care because it is important women are treated holistically. This ensures that all future GPs will receive training in women’s health. RCOG also published an updated undergraduate curriculum in 2021, which aligns professional capabilities expected of foundation year 2 doctors and takes a ‘life course approach’ to women’s health. The Quality and Outcomes Framework would not be an appropriate tool for implementing training incentives, as it is more suited to monitoring clinical parameters. In addition, the mandatory Commissioning for Quality and Innovation scheme has been paused and is therefore unavailable for incentivising training initiatives at this time.
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