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 that people affected by neurological conditions have access to appropriate (a) treatment and (b) support.

As set out in the NHS England Roadmap for integrating specialised services within integrated care systems, integrated care boards (ICBs) have, from April 2023, delegated responsibility for the commissioning of specialised neurosciences services. Integrating the commissioning of neurosciences services with ICBs will allow local systems to simplify and strengthen care pathways with other services through effective local partnerships, ensuring continuity for patients and improved health outcomes.

NHS England has also established the Neuroscience Transformation Programme, a multi-year, clinically-led programme aimed at improving specialised adult neuroscience services in England and developing a new model of integrated care for neurology services.

To support systems to understand the priorities in neurology care and improve service quality, NHS England has developed the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit. The Toolkit supports improvements to pathways for progressive neurological patients, ensuring that commissioners focus on quicker and more accurate diagnoses and increasing the availability of neurorehabilitation, reablement, and psychosocial support.