Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his department collects to monitor potential inequalities in multiple sclerosis care access; and how those findings are used to inform policy and service delivery improvements.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not collect patient-level clinical data directly but works with NHS England and other bodies to monitor inequalities in access to multiple sclerosis (MS) services through a range of national programmes and datasets.
The UK Multiple Sclerosis Register, which is managed by Swansea University and supported by the MS Society, provides a comprehensive evidence base on the experiences and outcomes of people living with MS across the United Kingdom. It combines patient-reported data with clinical information from National Health Services, enabling analysis of variations in access to treatments, specialist care, and support by geography, deprivation, ethnicity and other demographic factors.
Findings from the register are used to inform research policy development and service improvement initiatives. This evidence supports NHS England and integrated care boards in identifying variations in access to treatment and care, guiding commissioning decisions, and helping to reduce health inequalities for people living with MS.
Additionally, initiatives such as NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme and its RightCare programme both aim to reduce unwarranted variation in services and improve equity of care for people with MS.
GIRFT undertakes clinically-led, data-driven reviews of neurology services across all neuroscience centres and trusts. Its national neurology report sets out recommendations to standardise care, improve access to specialist services closer to home, and share best practice between providers. By addressing these variations, GIRFT helps to ensure that people with MS receive more consistent, high-quality care regardless of where they live.
RightCare focuses on population health and on reducing inequalities by providing commissioners with toolkits and benchmarking resources. Its Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit supports systems to assess current provision for conditions such as MS, identify gaps, and prioritise improvements. It promotes integrated, person-centred care and encourages commissioners to benchmark services against national standards, helping to reduce disparities in access and outcomes.