To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) duration and (b) content will be of the training to be offered to GPs who wish to take on the role of GP with Special Interest; what hospital specialties she expects to be covered by the programme; what estimate she has made of the number of GPs likely to apply; and if she will make a statement. (128735)

The appointment general practitioners with a special interest (GPwSIs) is local matter for primary care trusts. The Department supports this process through guidance, including specific advice on the following specialties:

care for older people;

coronary heart disease;

child protection;

dermatology;

diabetes;

drug misuse;

echocardiography;

emergency care;

ear nose and throat;

epilepsy;

genetics;

headaches;

mental health;

musculoskeletal conditions;

palliative care;

respiratory medicine; and

sexual health.

The Department has commissioned the Royal College of General Practitioners to review these frameworks. Revised versions will be published later this year as competency based specialty frameworks.

On training, the departmental guidance makes it clear a qualification alone is not enough and that GPwSIs should have acquired skills through supervised practice in an appropriate setting. Detailed training requirements are however a local matter and information on such training is not collected centrally.