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 diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease have access to (a) appropriate information, (b) treatment options and (c) a multidisciplinary care team.

There are 27 specialised neurological treatment centres across the National Health Service in England, which provide access to neurological multidisciplinary teams to ensure that patients with Parkinson’s disease can receive specialised treatment and support, according to their needs.

Most services for long-term conditions are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs), including for Parkinson’s. It is the responsibility of ICBs, working with clinicians, service users, and patient groups, to develop local services and care pathways that are convenient and that meet patients’ needs.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) publishes guidance on the diagnosis and treatment of long-term conditions for use by healthcare professionals and commissioners. The NICE published Parkinson’s disease in adults guidance in July 2017, which is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng71/chapter/recommendations

The NICE guidance includes that communication with people with Parkinson's disease should aim towards empowering them to participate in judgements and choices about their own care, and individually tailored and consistent communication from the professionals involved.

We have launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS and improve care for people with long-term conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease. A central and core part of the 10-Year Health Plan will be our workforce and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology, and infrastructure the NHS needs to make it more accessible, proactive, and tailored for patients.