Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to designating facial injuries resulting from domestic violence as a notifiable condition.

The National Health Service provides care and support to victims of domestic violence and abuse through a range of healthcare and support services relating to physical and mental health needs.

Routine enquiry for domestic violence is already in place in maternity and mental health services, to improve earlier disclosure and support people to get the care that they need.

Notifiable conditions are often conditions such as contagious diseases and infections, hence facial injuries as a result of domestic violence would not be categorised as such

NHS Digital has begun implementation of the Emergency Care Data Set (ECDS). This dataset is currently being rolled out to Type 1 (major) accident and emergency departments during spring 2018 with the aim of capturing improved data around clinical codes. The new variables in ECDS relating to injury are:

- Place of injury (e.g. garden, street);

- Intent (e.g. accidental, self-inflicted);

- Activity status (e.g. working);

- Activity (e.g. gardening);

- Mechanism (e.g. knife); and

- Drug/Alcohol (details of specific drugs taken if known).

One of the potential benefits of this would be better information for safeguarding vulnerable patients, including those who have been victims of physical facial injury as a result of domestic violence.