Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to raise awareness of the symptoms of migraines.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline, Headaches: Diagnosis and management of headaches in young people and adults, updated in December 2021, sets out best practice for healthcare professionals in the care, treatment, and support of people who suffer from headaches, including migraines. It aims to improve the recognition and management of headaches and migraines.

NHS RightCare has also produced a Headache and Migraine Toolkit. The toolkit sets out key priorities for improving care for patients with migraines, which includes correct identification and diagnosis of headache disorders. Additionally, Getting It Right First Time for Neurology published a National Speciality Report, which makes several recommendations in relation to improving recognition and diagnosis of migraines by general practitioners.

The Royal College of General Practitioners has developed two e-learning modules about migraine and cluster headaches, which aim to raise awareness amongst primary care clinicians about the different types of migraine and their associated symptoms, and how to differentiate between them.