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 ensure that (a) GPs and (b) other health professionals have adequate training for the early diagnosis of Lyme Disease.

Public Health England (PHE) hosts regular training sessions for registered medical practitioners and practice nurses. Information for medical professionals is available through the Lyme disease collection pages at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/lyme-disease-guidance-data-and-analysis

These will shortly be relaunched with additional content based on the new National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance and links to resources.

An e-learning course on Lyme disease hosted by the Royal College of General Practitioners is also available at the following link:

http://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/course/info.php?id=164

In April 2018, NICE published a new clinical guideline which provides the latest information for clinicians in diagnosing and managing Lyme disease. It aims to raise awareness of when Lyme disease should be suspected and ensure that people have prompt and consistent diagnosis and treatment. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng95

All medical education has to meet standards set by the General Medical Council (GMC), which is an independent statutory body. The GMC has the general function of promoting high standards of education and co-ordinating all stages of education to ensure that medical students and newly qualified doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for professional practice.