Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of 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.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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 - Buckingham)
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 offer the health visitor workforce specialised training in identifying signs of early movement difficulty in infants to help identify those infants with cerebral palsy.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
An e-learning programme, ‘Children’s Emotional and Additional Needs’ includes training for health visitors to provide support to children with long-term conditions such as cerebral palsy.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
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 modify the Personal Child Health Records to include checks for signs of abnormal motor development to enable parents and health visitors to identify signs of cerebral palsy in children and enable more rapid onward referrals.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Personal Child Health Record is constantly under review. The content and format are overseen by a multi-disciplinary group, hosted by the Royal College of Paediatric Child Health.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, 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 review how personal budgets in the Local Offer under the Children and Families Act 2014 can be used to enable access to early support for families with babies with or at risk of cerebral palsy.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Currently, any parent or carer of a child or a young person, including those with cerebral palsy, may request a personal budget as part of their education, health and care (EHC) plan as a means of delivering the outcomes specified in the plan. The scope of that budget will vary depending on the needs of the individual, the eligibility criteria for the different components and the mechanism for delivery. This means that decisions need to be taken on an individual basis, including for children with cerebral palsy. Decisions about the provision of personal budgets and other operational matters are for local authorities. Local authorities and their health partners remain responsible for securing the provision specified in an EHC plan, funded where necessary through joint commissioning arrangements.
More broadly, a review regarding special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) was announced in September 2019. The SEND review is looking at ways of making sure that the SEND system is consistent, high-quality and integrated across education, health and care. It is also considering measures to make sure that money is being spent fairly, efficiently and effectively, and that the support available to children and young people is sustainable in the future.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
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 increase the (a) size and (c) capacity of the health visiting workforce.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Local authorities are responsible for commissioning public health services for 0 to five year olds. The skill mix in any area will vary depending on local needs and therefore the number and ratio of health visitors to support staff will vary. To help increase the health visiting workforce, a Specialist Community and Public Health Nurse apprenticeship (Level 7) is now available, offering an alternative route direct into the health visiting profession.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what mental health assessment tools are clinically effective for adults living with cerebral palsy.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline ‘Cerebral palsy in adults’, published in January 2019, and quality standard ‘Cerebral palsy in adults’, published in January 2020, set out best practice guidance for clinicians assessing and monitoring the mental health of adults living with cerebral palsy. They recommend that specialist multidisciplinary teams identify and address mental health problems alongside physical health problems at reviews, exploring with the patient (and their family and carers, if agreed) whether they have any concerns about their mood, irritability, behaviour, social interaction, sleep or general level of function. The guidance can be found at the following links:
www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG119
www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs191
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) assessment he has made and (b) monitoring he undertakes of the mental health of adults living with cerebral palsy.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline ‘Cerebral palsy in adults’, published in January 2019, and quality standard ‘Cerebral palsy in adults’, published in January 2020, set out best practice guidance for clinicians assessing and monitoring the mental health of adults living with cerebral palsy. They recommend that specialist multidisciplinary teams identify and address mental health problems alongside physical health problems at reviews, exploring with the patient (and their family and carers, if agreed) whether they have any concerns about their mood, irritability, behaviour, social interaction, sleep or general level of function. The guidance can be found at the following links:
www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG119
www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs191
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
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 the transition from specialist cerebral palsy services provided for children and young people to adult services.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline ‘Transition from children’s to adults’ services for young people using health or social care services’, published February 2016, covers the period before, during and after a young person moves from children's to adults' services. Addressing both health and social care, it aims to make young people and their carers’ experience of transitioning between services better by improving the way it’s planned and carried out. The guideline is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng43
This guideline is used by the Care Quality Commission to inform the inspection process. NICE updated its pathway on the topic in June 2020, bringing together all relevant guidance and quality standards for cerebral palsy. The pathway is available at the following link:
http://pathways.nice.org.uk/pathways/cerebral-palsy
The ‘Cerebral palsy in under 25s: assessment and management’ guideline was published by NICE in January 2017, and covers diagnosing, assessing and managing cerebral palsy in children and young people from birth up to their 25th birthday. The guideline is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng62
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of medication used to manage motor function on the mental health of adults living with cerebral palsy.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessments have been made. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline ‘Cerebral palsy in adults’, published in January 2019, sets out best practice guidance for clinicians in considering the effects of medication for adults living with cerebral palsy. It recommends that clinicians should consider the specific factors that might affect identifying, assessing and managing mental health problems and emotional difficulties in people with cerebral palsy. These include the adverse effects of medicines, including the effects of medicines used for managing mental health problems on motor function, or those used for managing motor function on mental health. This guidance is available at the following link:
www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG119
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of mental health medication on the motor function of adults living with cerebral palsy.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessments have been made. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline ‘Cerebral palsy in adults’, published in January 2019, sets out best practice guidance for clinicians in considering the effects of medication for adults living with cerebral palsy. It recommends that clinicians should consider the specific factors that might affect identifying, assessing and managing mental health problems and emotional difficulties in people with cerebral palsy. These include the adverse effects of medicines, including the effects of medicines used for managing mental health problems on motor function, or those used for managing motor function on mental health. This guidance is available at the following link:
www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG119