Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will have discussions with (a) NHS England and (b) integrated care boards on the adequacy of NICE guidelines on the management of cerebral palsy in people under 25 years old with no cognitive impairment.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines are developed by experts based on a thorough assessment of the available evidence and through extensive public and stakeholder engagement. They represent best practice and should be taken fully into account by healthcare professionals in the care and treatment of their patients.

NICE is responsible for making decisions on updates to its guidelines and keeps its guidelines under surveillance to ensure that they reflect developments in the evidence base. NICE is not due to update its guideline on the assessment and management of cerebral palsy in people under 25 years old at the current time. If relevant new evidence emerges, NICE will follow its processes and consider whether any update is needed to the current guideline.

To support those people under 25 years old who are diagnosed with cerebral palsy, NHS England has worked with key stakeholder organisations, including children and young people, and their families and carers, to develop a framework targeted to integrated care systems to be used a supportive tool to aid the commissioning of high-quality services for children and young people with cerebral palsy, including those in the transition period to adult services.

NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) Programme aims to improve care for people with neurological conditions in England, including those with cerebral palsy, by reducing variation and delivering care more equitably across the country.  The GIRFT National Speciality Report provided the opportunity to share successful initiatives between trusts to improve patient services nationally.