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 help support people with short and long-term spinal cord injuries.

Our 10-Year Health Plan will have profound and positive impacts on care for patients with spinal cord injury. More tests and scans are delivered in the community, better joined-up working between services, and greater use of technology will all support people in the management of long-term conditions, including spinal cord injuries.

In March 2025, NHS England published the Spinal Services Clinical Network Specification, which establishes expectations for spinal clinical networks to standardise pathways and reduce variation, with the aim of improving access to care for patients.

The Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) Programme for spinal services is also driving service improvements and better care for patients with spinal cord injuries. GIRFT has worked with National Health Service trusts to showcase examples of best practice which other services can then learn from.

In October 2025, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published new guidance on rehabilitation for chronic neurological disorders, which includes rehabilitation for spinal cord injury.