Neurology
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of ICB-level oversight of neurology services.
Answered by Karin Smyth
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services that meet the needs of their local population, including for patients with neurological conditions. NHS England continues to set national standards, service specifications, and clinical access policies, which ICBs are expected to apply. Additionally, ICBs are expected to take National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance into account when considering appropriate care, including for patients with neurological conditions.
NHS England’s Neurology Transformation Programme, which concluded in March 2026, was a multi-year, clinically led programme, which developed a new model of integrated care to support ICBs to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients. A toolkit was developed to support ICBs to understand and implement this new model, which includes components on delivering acute neurology services, improving health equity in neurology, and improving community neurology services.
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