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 help support (a) the Echo Centre in Liskeard and (b) other community-based neuro-rehabilitation services.

The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board (ICB) is currently funding a community neuro-rehabilitation group meeting in the Echo centre in Liskeard. This has supported 48 people since January 2025, via a thirteen-week course, in a supportive group environment, to develop the skills, strength, and confidence to manage their condition independently and reduce their need for wider health and care services.

A community neurorehabilitation and stroke therapy team is funded by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly ICB and provided by the Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to provide assessments, treatment, and management for people with stroke and complex neurological conditions. This includes physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and supporting people with complex hospital discharges.

Further work is underway to understand the impact of the group course held at the Echo centre, the need for wider services, and how the people receiving, or waiting for, neurorehabilitation are using the health and care services. This will be used to inform the longer term commissioning of health and care services in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, and ensure they best meet the needs of residents.

Additionally, in line with the 10-Year Health Plan, the National Health Service in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is investing in services to prevent, where possible, conditions which require neurorehabilitation, such as strokes, and to reduce and delay the symptoms of conditions such as acquired brain injuries.

In August, NHS England updated its service specification for adult specialised neurology services. It states that neurology patients should have timely access to the full range of inpatient and outpatient specialised neurorehabilitation services. Service specifications are important in clearly defining the standards of care expected from organisations funded by NHS England to provide specialised care.

In October, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence also published new guidance on rehabilitation for chronic neurological disorders, including acquired brain injury. The guideline covers rehabilitation in all settings for children, young people, and adults with a chronic neurological disorder, neurological impairment, or disabling neurological symptoms due to acquired brain injury.