Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 39
39
Accepted
Train primary care practitioners to identify hidden reproductive health concerns during routine interactions.
Recommendation
Primary care practitioners should be trained to use women’s common interactions with the healthcare system, such as cervical screening appointments, ante- and post-natal care checks and visits to STI clinics, as an opportunity to pick up hidden health concerns relating to reproductive health. (Paragraph 139) Medical guidelines and standards
Government response summary AI-generated
The government accepts the recommendation, stating work is underway and committing to holding webinars for primary care practitioners, reviewing and updating existing e-learning packages, and referencing 2023 guidance on postnatal checks and the role of women’s health hubs.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
We recognise the opportunities for making every contact count across the health system, in line with best practice. The suggested contact points are delivered in a range of settings by a range of healthcare professionals. Work is already underway to maximise these routine contact points. NHS England is planning to hold webinars for primary care practitioners, which will incorporate joined-up ways to promote opportunistic reproductive healthcare. Existing e-learning training packages will be reviewed as part of this recommendation and updated content incorporated to ensure alignment with this approach. In 2023, NHS England published guidance for GPs on the 6 to 8-week maternal postnatal check . The focus of these appointments is wide-ranging but includes reproductive health issues including contraception and pelvic floor health, as well as wider health promotion. These interactions provide an opportunity to address reproductive health concerns in a targeted way. More broadly, where women’s health hubs are in place, they provide an educational and supportive role to primary care, embedding public health functions within their local population footprint. They play a key role in areas such as: preconception care contraception cervical screening We will consider what else we can do to maximise routine contact points with health and wider public services. We remain mindful that a typical GP appointment lasts just 10 minutes, and so clinicians should continue to be supported to use their expertise and discretion to identify the most relevant priorities for opportunistic discussion (for example, domestic violence is another important topic to consider). More broadly, we also recognise it is crucial that primary care practitioners have the appropriate training to enable them to pick up on, and support, women’s hidden health concerns. All 42 integrated care systems ( ICSs ) in England have a regional training hub that supports GPs and primary care networks by advising on, developing, delivering and procuring education and training. Training hubs work closely with health and care systems to: support workforce priorities tackle health inequalities support patients
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