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 improve support for people with (a) multiple sclerosis and (b) secondary progressive multiple sclerosis; and whether he plans to consult (a) the MS Society and (b) people with those conditions on future policy decisions.

Initiatives to support better care for patients with neurological conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, include the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology, and the Neurology Transformation Programme (NTP). NHS England’s NTP is a multi-year programme to develop a new model of integrated care for neurology services.

NHS England is also updating its specialised neurology service specification, which includes multiple sclerosis. Service specifications define the standards of care expected from organisations funded by NHS England to provide specialised care.

Involving relevant patient advocacy organisations, including people with lived experience, like the Multiple Sclerosis Society, is central to developing our policies for the National Health Service.

The consultation for our 10-Year Health Plan received over 190,000 responses, including responses from staff and patients. The plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed to move healthcare from hospital to the community, from analogue to digital, and from treatment to prevention. We also plan to publish our refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver a transformed health service over the next decade and treat patients, including those with multiple sclerosis, on time again

The Department has convened a new United Kingdom-wide neuro forum, which brings together the devolved administrations, health services, and Neurological Alliances of all four UK nations. The forum will share learning across the UK, and will discuss important neurology service transformation and workforce challenges, as well as best practice examples and potential solutions.