Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of developing a nationally coordinated (a) diagnosis pathway and (b) specialist service for patients with a suspected cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak.

Treatment for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks depends on the cause, site, and severity of the leak. CSF leaks are often treated conservatively, while others require procedures such as epidural blood patching, targeted patching, endoscopic skull-base repair, neurosurgical/spinal repair or, in selected cases, endovascular treatment of a CSF-venous fistula. These interventions are delivered through established specialist services and multidisciplinary teams.

Patients are managed through existing local and regional specialist pathways, with referral to centres with relevant expertise where required.