Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the level of NHS care and support available to people who have been diagnosed with Lyme disease.

Services for the treatment of Lyme disease are commissioned locally and are the responsibility of clinical commissioning groups. However, central resources and support are available for those providing services. For example Public Health England provide a referral pathway for general practitioners (GPs) to help them ensure difficult cases are referred to an appropriate National Health Service specialist as well as training sessions for GPs.

The advice and guidance available will be enhanced by the work underway on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guideline on Lyme disease and the three Systematic Reviews on diagnosis and diagnostic tests, treatment and epidemiology/transmission routes. NHS England will be monitoring the conclusions from these pieces of work on Lyme disease as they emerge. This should help them respond promptly to the new guidance.