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 clinical staff working in neighbourhood health teams have adequate expertise in Parkinson’s Disease.

The Neighbourhood Health Service will bring together teams of professionals closer to people’s homes to work together to provide comprehensive care in the community. We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations, and this could include staff with expertise in Parkinson’s care.

While we will be clear on the outcomes we expect, we will also give significant licence to localities to tailor their approach to local need. Integrated care boards will, therefore, develop workforce models to reflect local population needs, with flexibility for neighbourhoods to design teams that fit their demographics and health priorities.