Neurology: Drugs
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England's neurology service specifications require providers to include structured mental health and medication safety fields in headache referral, assessment and prescribing templates.
Answered by Mrs Sharon Hodgson
NHS England’s service specification for adult neurology sets out the overall standards and outcomes expected of providers. The specification makes clear that providers should deliver a holistic assessment and management approach for people with neurological conditions, including headache disorders. This includes appropriate consideration of co-existing mental health needs, safe and effective use of medicines, and adherence to relevant national guidance. Providers are expected to have robust arrangements for medicines optimisation and medication safety, including the identification and management of issues such as medication overuse in headache.
Clinical practice should also be informed by guidance published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, including guidance on headaches, which supports comprehensive assessment, the identification of medication overuse, and safe prescribing. Integrated care boards, as commissioners of services, are responsible for ensuring that local pathways and clinical processes reflect these expectations and support high-quality, safe, and patient-centred care.
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