Res Events Team delivers RCGP-supported GP Education Programme on Fertility in Essex.
25-Jan-2020: Infertility and subfertility are often issues GPs struggle to support patient with. This is due to a number of factors including a lack of specialist education, variable local provision and funding. Res Consortium has been working with a network of educators and providers to improve the quality of support for people living in Essex that struggle to conceive including Bourn Hall Clinic, the Essex Faculty of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and Anglia Ruskin University Medical School. Together we created new educational content that was delivered at an event for GPs at the medical school. The event was attended by 29 Essex GPs and included modules on the underlying causes of female and male subfertility and infertility, interpreting fertility test results, what can be done in General Practice, how and when to refer, what services are available and how services are commissioned. We ended the programme with an extended question and answer session where GPs could ask questions of the team relating to specific cases including anticipatory testing, onco-fertility, when to stop and consider alternatives, same-sex couples and single people, and funding. Doctors were also given an educational resource pack to take back and share with colleagues at their practice. The programme was very well received by the GPs who do not often have access to specialist training on the subject of fertility.