NHS England is actively assessing ‘workforce training gaps’ and ‘future clinical training needs’, the Government has said in response to calls for GPs to have more training in women’s reproductive health conditions.
A report from the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) at the end of last year said too often women experienced ‘medical misogyny’ and not being listened to when presenting with symptoms.
The committee made a raft of recommendations around education for GPs and measures to check they had up-to-date training, including mandatory inclusion of women’s health in appraisal checks.
In its published response, the Government said it would work closely with professional organisations including the Royal College of GPs to support practitioners to ‘achieve the required competencies’ for high-quality women’s health services.
It also said it was ‘committed to addressing racial biases and ensuring that all individuals experiencing pain are believed and supported to access treatment quickly’.
But it noted the RCGP had already created a Women’s Health Library of educational resources, guidelines and e-learning modules.
Women’s Health Hubs now in place in nine in ten ICBs would also be ‘well positioned’ to assess the training needs of healthcare professionals in both general practice and the wider community.
‘By working closely with general practice, hubs can help identify gaps in knowledge and skills while supporting the upskilling of healthcare professionals. This approach ensures that care delivery is informed by best practices and the lived experiences of women and girls,’ it said.
Work is happening to link primary and secondary care data to get better information on endometriosis diagnosis waiting times and NHS England will be holding a roundtable on procedural pain in spring 2025 to discuss training needs around cervical smears, and IUD insertion, as well as hysteroscopy, the response said.
NICE is also developing a guideline on polycystic ovarian syndrome.
But the Government rejected some recommendations around checking GPs had done enough training and said there had already been several improvements to women’s health education for trainee doctors.
The WEC had recommended that the annual GP appraisal process should be strengthened to include a specific performance indicator on the diagnosis and treatment of women’s reproductive health conditions, but the response noted that GPs must already show that they are keeping their skills and knowledge up to date in a 360 degree review.
The Government also said it would not be feasible to collect data on how many hours of training primary care practitioners undergo in women’s reproductive health every year and would add to the bureaucracy faced in general practice.
It also noted that the QOF would not be an appropriate tool for implementing training incentives, as was also recommended for consideration.
NHS England would be holding webinars for primary care practitioners to promote opportunistic reproductive healthcare and identify hidden health concerns, it noted.
‘We remain mindful that a typical GP appointment lasts just 10 minutes, and so clinicians should continue to be supported to use their expertise and discretion to identify the most relevant priorities for opportunistic discussion,’ the response added.
MPs had also called for a funding and training strategy to address the lack of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) provision in general practice.
‘We acknowledge the vital role that GPs play in the delivery of high-quality sexual and reproductive health services, including provision of LARC.
‘We continue to work with GPs, local authorities and other partners to understand the issues around the training required to meet the sexual and reproductive health needs of the population in multiple settings,’ the response said.
It added: ‘We will consider the fee structures for LARC, which will also cover areas beyond women’s health hubs.
‘To support a sustainable delivery model, it is important that those commissioning LARC services fully understand local capacity and demand. Information on future funding allocations will be announced in due course.’
