Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the all-party Parliamentary group on cerebral palsy’s report, Early identification, intervention and pathways of care of infants and young children with cerebral palsy: The case for reform and investment, published in March 2021, what plans he has to assign each family an independent partner within their child development team or from a specialist voluntary provider who is a qualified professional with knowledge of cerebral palsy and who is able to provide monitoring, in-reach, information, and support to the family and help them to refer to and co-ordinate services.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Local delivery models of Child Development Teams vary and local authorities are encouraged to use the national commissioning guidance. The skill mix in any given area will vary depending on local needs, as this is because it should be led by health needs of a population and geographical areas. We will continue to work with the Local Government Association, professional bodies, and locally through Public Health England centres, to share evidence and guidance that allows councils to make the best decisions to meet local need.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the all-party Parliamentary group on cerebral palsy’s report, Early identification, intervention and pathways of care of infants and young children with cerebral palsy: The case for reform and investment, published in March 2021, if he will put in place three additional universal health visiting contacts at (a) three to five weeks, (b) three months and (c) three and half years to increase the opportunity for early detection of children with cerebral palsy and refer those children with early signs of that condition to specialised care pathways.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Five mandated health reviews for children aged 0 to five years old are offered to all families. However, mandated reviews are not the full extent of the health visiting service offer and additional contacts and reviews are considered where health visiting teams could respond to a family’s identified needs. Health visitors utilise their clinical judgement and can refer children to a specialist teams to assess for cerebral palsy if needed.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the all-party Parliamentary group on cerebral palsy’s report, Early identification, intervention and pathways of care of infants and young children with cerebral palsy: The case for reform and investment, published in March 2021, if he will create a national cerebral palsy register.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
No specific assessment has been made of these recommendations at this stage. However, NHS England and NHS Improvement will be meeting later in April to consider the report.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the all-party Parliamentary group on cerebral palsy’s report, Early identification, intervention and pathways of care of infants and young children with cerebral palsy: The case for reform and investment, published in March 2021, what steps he is taking to improve systems of data collection on the incidence, diagnosis, medical history, developmental needs and outcomes of children with cerebral palsy.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
No specific assessment has been made of these recommendations at this stage. However, NHS England and NHS Improvement will be meeting later in April to consider the report.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the all-party Parliamentary group on cerebral palsy’s report, Early identification, intervention and pathways of care of infants and young children with cerebral palsy: The case for reform and investment, published in March 2021, if he will provide specific training for (a) GPs, (b) community paediatricians, (c) health visitors, (d) social workers and (e) other non-specialist health professionals to identify the early signs of cerebral palsy and associated neurodisabilities in infants.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
No specific assessment has been made of these recommendations at this stage. However, NHS England and NHS Improvement will be meeting later in April to consider the report.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the all-party Parliamentary group on cerebral palsy’s report, Early identification, intervention and pathways of care of infants and young children with cerebral palsy: The case for reform and investment, published in March 2021, if he will ensure that all families of children with cerebral palsy have access to expert services provided by the private or voluntary sectors in the event of inadequate provision or lengthy waiting times in the statutory sector for assessment and intervention.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
No specific assessment has been made of these recommendations at this stage. However, NHS England and NHS Improvement will be meeting later in April to consider the report.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the all-party Parliamentary group on cerebral palsy’s report, Early identification, intervention and pathways of care of infants and young children with cerebral palsy: The case for reform and investment, published in March 2021, if he will ensure that referral-to-treatment timescales for cerebral palsy are tightened and minimised to facilitate rapid intervention at the earliest possible stage for a child.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
No specific assessment has been made of these recommendations at this stage. However, NHS England and NHS Improvement will be meeting later in April to consider the report.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the all-party Parliamentary group on cerebral palsy’s report, Early identification, intervention and pathways of care of infants and young children with cerebral palsy: The case for reform and investment, published in March 2021, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that all care pathways include agreed and audited quality standards.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
No specific assessment has been made of these recommendations at this stage. However, NHS England and NHS Improvement will be meeting later in April to consider the report.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the all-party Parliamentary group on cerebral palsy’s report, Early identification, intervention and pathways of care of infants and young children with cerebral palsy: The case for reform and investment, published in March 2021, if his Department will take steps to ensure that health authorities are required to implement the NICE Guidelines and Quality Standard as a minimum standard for the prompt referral of children with Cerebral Palsy to expert multidisciplinary teams.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
No specific assessment has been made of these recommendations at this stage. However, NHS England and NHS Improvement will be meeting later in April to consider the report.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the all-party Parliamentary group on cerebral palsy’s report, Early identification, intervention and pathways of care of infants and young children with cerebral palsy: The case for reform and investment, published in March 2021, what steps he is taking to fund and ringfence streamlined pathways for children at risk of neurodisability.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
No specific assessment has been made of these recommendations at this stage. However, NHS England and NHS Improvement will be meeting later in April to consider the report.