Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with (a) medical schools and (b) the medical Royal Colleges on the length and adequacy of training on menopausal and perimenopausal symptoms and their management.

Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on GOV.UK.

It is the Government’s ambition, as set out in the Women’s Health Strategy, that healthcare professionals in primary care are well-informed about the menopause and able to offer women evidence-based advice and treatment options.

The General Medical Council will be introducing the Medical Licensing Assessment for the majority of incoming doctors, including all medical students graduating in academic year 2024 to 2025 and onwards. The content for this assessment will include key topics relating to women’s health, including the menopause. This will encourage a better understanding of women’s health among doctors as they start their careers in the United Kingdom.

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has a holistic curriculum of training that all general practitioners (GPs) must cover before they are able to pass the examination to become a member of the RCGP and work independently as a GP. There is a specific section on women’s health, including the menopause. As a result, the menopause is already a core competency of all qualified GPs. The RCGP has also developed a women’s health toolkit to support GPs, which includes resources on the menopause.

Employers in the health system are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to the required standards to deliver appropriate treatment for patients.