Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) increase the training provided to and (b) improve the understanding of dealing with cases sensitively and effectively of (i) medical students and (ii) junior doctors on eating disorders.

Mental health should be an integral part of medical education and training so that all doctors have the necessary knowledge and experience of mental health to assess patients holistically, considering the individuals’ physical, social and psychological needs. All newly qualified doctors, as a condition of their registration with the General Medical Council (GMC), must explain and illustrate by professional experience the principles for the identification, safe management and referral of patients with mental health conditions.

The Government is committed to provide the best training experience for all doctors in training and will work with the GMC and relevant stakeholders to ensure doctors in training receive the necessary mental health training to meet the current and future needs of patients. The GMC, at the request of the Department held a roundtable on 21 November 2019 to use their influence to improve educational knowledge and skill in the recognition and treatment of eating disorders.