Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS England’s document, Investment and evolution: A five-year framework for GP contract reform to implement the NHS Long Term Plan, published 31 January 2019, whether his Department has plans to introduce a national service specification for women’s health including a focus on (a) sexual and reproductive health and (b) contraception.

The recently published 2019/20 general practitioner (GP) Contract announced seven national service specifications that will be developed for the new Primary Care Networks:

- Structured Medications Review and Optimisation;

- Enhanced Health in Care Homes, to implement the vanguard model;

- Anticipatory Care requirements for high need patients typically experiencing several long term conditions, joint with community services;

- Personalised Care, to implement the NHS Comprehensive Model;

- Supporting Early Cancer Diagnosis;

- Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Diagnosis; and

- Tackling Neighbourhood Inequalities.

There are no current plans for an additional service specification on women’s health, as we would expect the health needs of all patients, including women, to be a key consideration in each of the seven service specifications. In addition, under the General Medical Services contract, GP practices must provide essential services that include the provision of appropriate ongoing treatment and care to all of their patients and onward referral where appropriate.

From October 2019, contraception services will no longer be an Additional Service under the Regulations governing the General Medical Services contract but will become part of Essential Services for GP contractors.