Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what action his Department is taking to ensure (a) GPs and (b) GP nursing staff receive training on endometriosis.

General practitioners (GPs) and nurses are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge, including on endometriosis and women’s health issues in general, remains up to date and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development, within their scope of practice.

All United Kingdom registered doctors are expected to meet the professional standards set out in the General Medical Council’s (GMC’s) Good Medical Practice. The training curriculum for postgraduate trainee doctors is set by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and has to meet the standards set by the GMC.

The GMC has introduced the Medical Licensing Assessment to encourage a better understanding of common women’s health problems among all doctors as they start their careers in the UK. The content map for this assessment includes several topics relating to women’s health including menstrual problems, endometriosis, menopause, and 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. Endometriosis is also included in the core curriculum for trainee GPs, and for obstetricians and gynaecologists. The British Medical Journal and RCGP offer online courses on endometriosis designed for healthcare professionals, including practice nurses.

In November 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) updated their guideline on endometriosis which makes firmer recommendations for healthcare professionals on referral and investigations for women with suspected diagnosis, which is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG73

GPs and primary care networks have access to a regional Primary Care Training Hub, which brings together education and training resources from National Health Service organisations, community providers, as well as local authorities. Training hubs are usually run by a clinical leader and a manager supported by a network of primary care staff with education and training professionals based in the community. They work closely with primary care networks and integrated care systems to support workforce priorities and tackle health inequalities to help meet patient and population demand. Training hubs support all clinical staff, including nurses, to maintain their continuing professional development when new guidance, such as that from NICE, becomes available.