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 (a) improve neurology waiting times and (b) help ensure timely access to treatment for people with multiple sclerosis.

We are committed to supporting people with long term conditions, including neurological conditions, and ensuring they receive the support that they need, including referral to specialist services as appropriate.

The Government is committed to putting patients first. This means making sure that patients, including patients with multiple sclerosis, are seen on time, and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care.

Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission. We will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments, including for neurology, per week, as a first step in our commitment to ensuring patients can expect to be treated within 18 weeks.

We will be supporting National Health Service trusts to deliver these through innovation, sharing best practice to increase productivity and efficiency, and ensuring the best value is delivered.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning most services for people with long term conditions, including neurological conditions. ICBs are allocated funding by NHS England to meet local need and priorities, and improve outcomes. NHS England continues to set national standards, service specifications, and clinical access policies which ICBs are expected to apply.

NHS England’s Neuroscience Transformation Programme is supporting ICBs to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients, including treatment for those with multiple sclerosis. This includes providing care closer to home.