Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to consult with (a) charities and (b) patient groups on restarting (i) neurology services and (ii) advanced Parkinson’s services.

As part of a national review of specialised neurology, NHS England and NHS Improvement have been working with partners, patients, charities, and societies to support restoration and recovery of specialised neurology services, including advanced Parkinson’s services, which have now been restarted.

The Association of British Neurologists has published specific guidance on recommencing neurology services in the recovery phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. This guidance contains assessments on which services and patients require urgent prioritisation, taking into account the severity and onset of symptoms. NHS England and NHS Improvement have also provided a range of prioritisation advice for restarting community services, which set out how to meet the needs of people with neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s safely and effectively. This guidance can be found at the following links:

cdn.ymaws.com/www.theabn.org/resource/collection/65C334C7-30FA-45DB-93AA-74B3A3A20293/20.05.20_ABN_Restarting_Neurology_Services_post_COVID_v1.pdf

www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/covid-19-prioritisation-within-community-health-services-with-annex_19-march-2020/