Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will ask mental health trusts to ensure that their eligibility criteria include patients with organic brain disorders, such as Huntington’s disease, to help those people access mental health support services where mental health is the presenting symptom.

Access to mental health services is based on clinical need, including for people with organic brain disorders such as Huntington’s disease. The NHS Long Term Plan commits an additional £2.3 billion a year to expand mental health services in England by 2023/24. This includes increasing access to National Health Service talking therapies through Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) to ensure that 1.9 million adults, including those with Huntington’s disease, can receive support for conditions such as anxiety and depression.

The NHS is developing the IAPT services include a focus on people with long term conditions. The IAPT - long term conditions services have been established to support integrated pathways between IAPT services and physical health for people with long term conditions, including neurological conditions. All integrated care systems are expected to commission IAPT services integrated into physical healthcare pathways as part of IAPT expansion plans locally.