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 diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus in the NHS.

Neurology waiting times are coming down. Between December 2024 and December 2025, the average waiting time for neurology services was reduced from 16.2 to 15.2 weeks. Additionally, 57.0% of patients referred were seen within 18 weeks, up from 54.2% at the same point last year. However, there is more to do. We are continuing efforts to improve this, recognising this is a challenged specialty.

Diagnosis data of normal pressure hydrocephalus is not collected in the Waiting List Minimum Data Set. The NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board is unable to define waiting times for a specific diagnosis.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has produced guidance on the recognition and referral of suspected neurological conditions, which was last updated in October 2023. This guideline covers the initial assessment of symptoms and signs that might indicate a neurological condition, such as hydrocephalus. It helps non-specialist healthcare professionals to identify people who should be offered referral for specialist investigation.

At the national level, there are ongoing initiatives to support service improvement and better care for people with neurological conditions, including NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) Programme for Neurology, which aims to reduce unwarranted variation and share best practice across services. The GIRFT Programme has also produced a Further Faster handbook for neurology, which provides resources and best practice guidance to help support clinical teams to go faster and further in reducing neurology waiting times, including for patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus.