Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of GP practices offer women a postnatal assessment six to eight weeks after giving birth.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The information requested is not held centrally.
Since the general practice contract Regulations were amended in 2020, there has been a contractual requirement for all women to be offered a maternal postnatal consultation, between six and eight weeks postnatally. As defined in the contract, this is a consultation with a general medical practitioner at which the physical and mental health and well-being of the women is reviewed. The consultation should be offered face to face, but where there are practical challenges for the mother in attending, such as having a baby in neonatal care, a virtual check can be carried out so long as appropriate follow-ups are in place.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of GP practices offer the six to eight week postnatal assessment (a) face-to-face and (b) remotely.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The information requested is not held centrally.
Since the general practice contract Regulations were amended in 2020, there has been a contractual requirement for all women to be offered a maternal postnatal consultation, between six and eight weeks postnatally. As defined in the contract, this is a consultation with a general medical practitioner at which the physical and mental health and well-being of the women is reviewed. The consultation should be offered face to face, but where there are practical challenges for the mother in attending, such as having a baby in neonatal care, a virtual check can be carried out so long as appropriate follow-ups are in place.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing a strategy on reproductive health.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
We recognise that there is more to do to improve women’s reproductive health and have published a new Women’s Health Strategy for England. As part of the strategy, we are investing £25 million in women’s health hubs, so that women can get better access to care for essential services including contraception, menstruation and menopause. We will consider the need for further action as we take forward work to improve sexual and reproductive health services in England.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish additional information on the allocation of funding for Women’s Health Hubs.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
On 8 March we announced a £25 million investment over the next two years to accelerate the development of women’s health hubs as part of the Women’s Health Strategy for England. More information on the allocation and delivery of the funding will be announced shortly.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the women’s health clinical lead in NHS England will be appointed.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England continues to work with the Department on the appointment of a women’s health lead.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many meetings his Department have held with community pharmacies on hormonal replacement therapy in (a) 2023 and (b) 2022.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) are the representative body for community pharmacy contractors in England. The Department has not met with community pharmacies, however fortnightly meetings have been held with the PSNC in 2022 to discuss the launch of the new hormone replacement therapy (HRT) Prescription Pre-Payment Certificate. The frequency of these meetings increased to weekly in 2023, in the lead up to the 1 April 2023 launch date, and regular meetings will continue over the coming months.
Since May 2022 the Department has held quarterly roundtables with suppliers, wholesalers and community pharmacists to discuss the challenges they are facing, what needs to be done to address them and what they are doing.
The Department also holds regular meetings with individual HRT suppliers, requesting frequent stock updates to monitor progress against plans, horizon scanning for upcoming issues, problem solving and expediting resupply dates where needed to mitigate supply issues.
Ministerial meetings are published quarterly and can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many meetings his Department has held with hormonal replacement therapy suppliers in (a) 2022 and (b) 2023.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) are the representative body for community pharmacy contractors in England. The Department has not met with community pharmacies, however fortnightly meetings have been held with the PSNC in 2022 to discuss the launch of the new hormone replacement therapy (HRT) Prescription Pre-Payment Certificate. The frequency of these meetings increased to weekly in 2023, in the lead up to the 1 April 2023 launch date, and regular meetings will continue over the coming months.
Since May 2022 the Department has held quarterly roundtables with suppliers, wholesalers and community pharmacists to discuss the challenges they are facing, what needs to be done to address them and what they are doing.
The Department also holds regular meetings with individual HRT suppliers, requesting frequent stock updates to monitor progress against plans, horizon scanning for upcoming issues, problem solving and expediting resupply dates where needed to mitigate supply issues.
Ministerial meetings are published quarterly and can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the differential presentation of heart attacks in women and men is covered in the NHS Health Check.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As the NHS Health Check is England’s cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention programme, information and advice on the presentation of heart attacks is out of scope for the service. During a check, a CVD risk calculator, QRISK, is used to establish an individual’s chance of having a heart attack or stroke in the next 10 years. The calculation uses sex as a weighted risk factor.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with (a) medical schools and (b) the medical Royal Colleges on the length and adequacy of training on menopausal and perimenopausal symptoms and their management.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on GOV.UK.
It is the Government’s ambition, as set out in the Women’s Health Strategy, that healthcare professionals in primary care are well-informed about the menopause and able to offer women evidence-based advice and treatment options.
The General Medical Council will be introducing the Medical Licensing Assessment for the majority of incoming doctors, including all medical students graduating in academic year 2024 to 2025 and onwards. The content for this assessment will include key topics relating to women’s health, including the menopause. This will encourage a better understanding of women’s health among doctors as they start their careers in the United Kingdom.
The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has a holistic curriculum of training that all general practitioners (GPs) must cover before they are able to pass the examination to become a member of the RCGP and work independently as a GP. There is a specific section on women’s health, including the menopause. As a result, the menopause is already a core competency of all qualified GPs. The RCGP has also developed a women’s health toolkit to support GPs, which includes resources on the menopause.
Employers in the health system are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to the required standards to deliver appropriate treatment for patients.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, wat assessment he has made of the potential merits of including appropriate treatment for symptoms of the menopause in the Quality and Outcomes Framework.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department has considered this, and currently has no plans to introduce menopause treatment into the Quality and Outcomes Framework. The menopause is a priority area within the Government’s ‘Women’s Health Strategy’, which was published last summer. This sets out the Government’s aim for women to have access to high-quality, personalised menopause care within primary care and, if needed, specialist care in a timely manner. Changes outlined in the strategy are being implemented via the NHS England National Menopause Care Improvement Programme.