Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the adequacy of local neurological care for children.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Guideline, ‘Suspected neurological conditions: recognition and referral’, published 2019 contains recommendations for clinicians in referring children to specialist neurology services. NHS England and NHS Improvement have published a range of service specifications setting out what providers must have in place to deliver specialised neurological care, including for children. Local commissioners, who are best placed to make decisions at a local level, should draw on these guidelines when commissioning neurology services for children. The guidance is available at the following links:
www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng127
www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-d/d04/