Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department taking to support menopausal women with mental health issues in Surrey Heath constituency.

We know that too many people, including menopausal women with mental health issues, are not receiving the mental health care they need, and that waits for mental health services are too long across England, including in Surrey Heath.

As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future, we are committed to prioritising women’s health, and we will also recruit 8,500 mental health workers across children and adult services to help ease pressure on busy mental health services.

We are working with NHS England to consider options to deliver this commitment alongside the refresh of the Long Term Workforce Plan.

In addition, NHS England is working on menopause workforce support packages for employees and developing a range of tools and interventions that will help to upskill more general practitioners in menopause care, including awareness of mental health symptoms during menopause, and improve access to treatments.