Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the (a) availability and (b) geographical distribution of clinicians with specialist expertise in (i) Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, (ii) Corticobasal Degeneration and (iii) other atypical parkinsonian conditions.

All consultant neurologists are trained to recognise, diagnose, and initiate management of atypical parkinsonian conditions, including Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and Corticobasal Degeneration. Patients across England access specialist expertise through established networked care arrangements. District general hospitals have referral pathways to movement disorder specialists, and all specialised neurology centres provide dedicated movement disorder services, ensuring complex cases can be assessed by clinicians with appropriate expertise regardless of geographical location.

The Department does not collect condition‑specific data on referrals, waiting times, or diagnosis for progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal degeneration, or other atypical parkinsonian conditions, as outpatient diagnoses are not routinely coded within National Health Service datasets. NHS England continues to strengthen pathways for timely recognition and referral of complex movement disorders through the specialised neurology service specification and integrated neurology networks, although condition‑specific diagnostic and waiting‑time data are not currently available. The specialised neurology service specification is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/specialised-neurology-services-adults-service-specification-august-2025.pdf