Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 40
40
Accepted in Part
Commission NICE to develop and disseminate comprehensive guidelines for all reproductive health conditions, monitoring adherence.
Recommendation
The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England should commission NICE to develop comprehensive guidelines for all reproductive health conditions. Those guidelines should be communicated to GPs and made accessible to patients through the NHS website to allow informed patient-GP discussions. Adherence to these guidelines by medical practitioners and any barriers to following them must be monitored, including their usefulness to patients. (Paragraph 145) A fragmented commissioning system
Government Response Summary
The government accepts that reproductive health is a priority for guidelines and notes NICE already has an extensive portfolio and is developing new guidance, but states NICE cannot commit to developing comprehensive guidelines for all conditions due to limited capacity and its prioritisation framework.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
We agree that reproductive health is an important area for the development of clinical guidelines. NICE has identified women’s and reproductive health as a priority area for guideline development, and already has an extensive portfolio of guidance in this area, including guidelines [NG73] on endometriosis (linked in the government response to 'Recommendation 6' in 'Accessing a diagnosis' above) and [NG88] Heavy menstrual bleeding: assessment and management. NICE is also currently developing or updating guidelines on important topics such as polycystic ovary syndrome (linked in the government response to 'Recommendation 23' in 'Training and standards' above) and [CG156] Fertility problems: assessment and treatment. NICE cannot, however, commit to developing guidance on all reproductive health conditions as it has limited capacity that has to be prioritised across the full breadth of NHS services. In 2024, NICE established a new approach to the identification and prioritisation of new guidance topics, including clinical guidelines, that ensures that its capacity is focussed on topics that will have the largest impact on the health and care system. Any new reproductive health topics would be considered in line with the prioritisation framework. NICE guidelines provide authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the NHS on best practice and the NHS is expected to take them fully into account in ensuring that services meet the needs of their local populations. NICE provides a range of resources and advice to support the NHS to implement its guidance including resource impact assessments and clinical audit tools. It also has an adoption and implementation team that provides support to the system to enable the effective use of NICE guidance.