Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what long term plans he has to support (a) babies and (b) children with behaviour issues or mental disabilities as a result of (i) opioid and (ii) alcohol withdrawal symptoms after being born.
The Department published guidelines on clinical management on drug misuse and dependence in 2017. The guidelines provide recommendations and best practice for social care and health professionals to treat pregnant women misusing illicit drugs, including opioids. The guidelines are available at the following link:
To improve diagnosis and care of those affected by foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, we have asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to produce a Quality Standard in England, which is expected to be published later this year.