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 help improve the information and resources on menstrual health conditions provided to primary healthcare professionals to help diagnosis and referrals to specialist treatment.

The Women’s Health Strategy sets out our ambitions to improve healthcare professional education and training on women’s health, including working alongside the Women's Health Ambassador, education institutions, professional bodies and other stakeholders to improve education and training.

There are a number of resources available to healthcare professionals in primary care. For example, the Royal College of General Practitioners has developed a Women’s Health toolkit which aims to support practising general practitioners (GPs). This resource is continually updated to ensure GPs have the most up-to-date advice to provide the best care for their patients. The Royal College of Nursing has also produced a women’s health pocket guide for nurses and midwives working with women. New credentials focused on women’s health have already been piloted or are in development. This will standardise and improve training in these areas of women’s health.

The National Institute for Care and Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for providing authoritative, evidence-based guidance for healthcare professionals to drive best practice in the National Health Service. NICE is currently updating its guidelines on endometriosis and menopause, and the development of a guideline on polycystic ovary syndrome is being considered through the established topic selection process.