Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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145. To ask the Minister for Health if general practitioner training is being considered as part of the national response to endometriosis; if the Minister acknowledges the importance of equipping GPs to identify and appropriately refer suspected cases; and if specific measures will be introduced to support this aspect of the care pathway. [24164/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The Irish College of General Practitioners develops and delivers education on a range of community gynaecology topics including Endometriosis. Education is delivered in a range of formats from the large scale webinar to the in-depth skills-based education in blended, modular format. This is Continuous Professional Development education and is also available to GPs in training.

The Irish College of GPs course in Community Gynaecology is a highly interactive, modular, blended learning programme designed to provide the participant with a sound understanding of common gynaecological presentations in general practice, and to enable GPs to successfully manage their patients' gynaecological problems. Endometriosis is included as a mandatory topic in this course.

A General Practice Update (GPU) on the Diagnosis and Management of Endometriosis is currently in development in the Irish College of GPs. GPs are made aware of publication of GPUs through a range of communications channels including Newsletters, webinars and they are available electronically to all College members including GP trainees.

A new Irish College of GPs Curriculum is due to launch at the end of this year. The updated curriculum emphasises the professional standards expected of General Practitioners in approaching the many and varied presentations to general practice, providing a framework for GPs to approach patient’s issues in a patient centred and holistic manner.

Endometriosis is covered as part of the women's health curriculum during GP specialty training. Endometriosis is specifically mentioned in both the current and updated curricula as a condition that trainees can expect to encounter during training. The symptoms relevant to endometriosis are also explicitly mentioned in the updated curriculum document.

In addition to this, the National Framework for Endometriosis is being developed by the HSE’s National Women & Infant’s Health Programme (NWIHP) in conjunction with endometriosis specialists and gynaecologists, and in consultation with stakeholders, including the Irish Council for General Practitioners. The framework identifies how care for women with endometriosis will be delivered from primary care to local hospital care to specialist complex care by multidisciplinary teams.