Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with the Royal College of GPs on introducing mandatory training on the menopause for trainee GPs; and if he will make a statement.

The curricula for general practitioner (GP) Specialty Training are set by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and must meet the standards set by the General Medical Council (GMC) and be formally approved by them.

The RCGP Curriculum ‘Being a General Practitioner’, has recently been reviewed and a wide range of conditions are covered in the clinical topic guides. The curriculum is designed to integrate with the GMC’s generic professional capabilities framework. The framework prioritises several themes, such as patient safety, quality improvement, safeguarding vulnerable groups, health promotion, leadership, team-working and other fundamental aspects of professional behaviour and practice.

The menopause is emphasized in the clinical topic guides that supplement the curriculum and is listed in the ‘common and important conditions’ section of the topic guide on gynaecology and breast health.