Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to help improve (a) training and (b) awareness of (i) Lymphoedema and (ii) Lipoedema for (A) GPs and (B) other medical professionals.

Doctors are responsible for maintaining their clinical knowledge, including on lymphoedema and lipoedema, throughout their careers, and are responsible for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development.

All doctors registered in the United Kingdom are expected to meet the professional standards set out in the General Medical Council’s (GMC’s) Good Medical Practice. In 2012, the GMC introduced revalidation, which supports doctors in regularly reflecting on how they can develop or improve their practice, giving patients confidence that doctors are up to date with their practice, and promoting improved quality of care by driving improvements in clinical governance.

The training curricula for postgraduate trainee doctors are set by the relevant medical royal college and have to meet the standards set by the GMC. Whilst curricula do not necessarily highlight specific conditions for doctors to be aware of, they instead emphasise the skills and approaches that a doctor must develop to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients.

Resources for health professionals are available from a number of professional and patient organisations to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients presenting with lymphoedema and lipoedema.