Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to train GPs to make appropriate referrals for Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD), and (2) to encourage endocrinologists to offer appropriate GHD treatments, including glucose stimulation and insulin stress tests, given estimates that only 10,000 out of around 300,000 patients are getting reliable treatments.

The 2021 UK Rare Diseases Framework sets out four priorities to improve the lives of people living with rare diseases, such as Growth Hormone Deficiency. To implement the Framework, we published England’s first Rare Diseases Action Plan in February 2022. The Plan includes actions to improve the timely diagnosis of rare conditions and raise awareness of rare conditions among healthcare professionals. Progress against these actions will be reported in England’s second Rare Diseases Action Plan, due to be published in early 2023.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence are currently updating its guideline on the assessment and early management of head injury. The final guideline is expected to be published in March 2023.

The curricula for postgraduate specialty training such as endocrinology are set by the relevant Royal College and has to meet the standards set by the General Medical Council and be formally approved by them.