Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to improve the training available to medical practitioners on the treatment of people with chronic diseases.

Mr Philip Dunne

It is the responsibility of the professional regulators, such as the General Medical Council (GMC), to set the standards and outcomes for education and training and approve training curricula to ensure newly qualified healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. This includes training in the treatment of people with chronic diseases.

Higher Education Institutions are responsible for ensuring the programmes they provide allow healthcare students to meet the outcomes set out by the regulators upon graduation.

The Royal Colleges, for example the Royal College of Nursing, the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Royal College of Surgeons, also have responsibility for developing curricula for doctors and nurses, in particular postgraduate curricula.

In England, Health Education England works with bodies that set curricula such as the GMC and the Royal Colleges to seek to ensure training meets the needs of patients, including those with chronic diseases.