The Hon. Member can find advice on how to use the NHS App to order prescriptions at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-app/help/prescriptions/

The Hon. Member can find advice on how to use the NHS App to order prescriptions at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-app/help/prescriptions/

The Hon. Member can find advice on how to use the NHS App to order prescriptions at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-app/help/prescriptions/

The Government is committed to improving access to high‑quality care and treatment for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other progressive neurological conditions.

Through NHS England’s Neurology Transformation Programme, a new model of integrated care has also been developed to support integrated care boards (ICBs) to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients. This focuses on providing access equitably across the country, with care as close to home as possible, and early intervention to prevent illness and deterioration in patients with long-term neurological conditions, including MS. A toolkit was developed to support ICBs to understand and implement this new model, which includes components on delivering acute neurology services, improving health equity in neurology, and improving community neurology services.

NHS England has published an updated service specification for specialised neurology services, including MS, which sets out clear expectations for proactive, coordinated care to reduce the risk of avoidable complications and emphasises early identification of clinical risks, personalised care planning, and timely access to multidisciplinary support, including specialist nurses, therapists, and community services.

In addition, the GIRFT Programme for Neurology, the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit, and the model of integrated neurology care developed through the Neurology Transformation Programme support greater consistency, coordination, and sharing of best practice across local systems and geographical areas. NHS England has developed national neurology dashboards, including an MS data dashboard and an interactive adult neurology dashboard, to support systems in monitoring service delivery, benchmarking performance, and understanding the quality of local neurology services.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued guidance on the use of disease‑modifying therapies for MS, supporting clinicians to offer clinically- and cost‑effective treatments based on the best available evidence. ICBs are expected to have regard to NICE guidance to ensure patients can access high‑quality care and treatment. NHS England also supports the implementation of treatment algorithms to promote consistent prescribing and reduce unwarranted variation in access to high‑efficacy therapies.

The 10-Year Health Plan will also support improved care and outcomes for people with MS by focusing on earlier diagnosis, more timely access to specialist treatment, and more coordinated, community‑based care. It will prioritise reducing unwarranted variation in services and strengthening multidisciplinary support, helping people with MS to manage their condition more effectively and maintain their quality of life.

Finally, a UK-wide neuro forum has been convened, bringing together the governments, health services, and Neurological Alliances of all four UK nations. The forum will share learnings across the UK, and discuss important neurology services transformation and workforce challenges, as well as best practice examples and potential solutions.

The Health Bill has been subject to extensive consultation with a wide range of stakeholders, including patient groups and representatives of general practitioners (GPs). Impact assessments were also published alongside the bill, which can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-bill-impact-assessments-summary/health-bill-impact-assessments-summary

In addition, the Department is currently undertaking a programme of deliberative engagement with GPs and practice managers to help shape the implementation of the single patient record.

The Health Bill has been subject to extensive consultation with a wide range of stakeholders, including patient groups and representatives of general practitioners (GPs). Impact assessments were also published alongside the bill, which can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-bill-impact-assessments-summary/health-bill-impact-assessments-summary

In addition, the Department is currently undertaking a programme of deliberative engagement with GPs and practice managers to help shape the implementation of the single patient record.

Baroness Casey has made clear that one of the core purposes of the Big Conversation on Care that she is leading is to hear from people, families, and carers with direct, real-life experience of the current social care system, so she can reflect those experiences in her recommendations for reform.

All waiting lists are subject to clinical prioritisation at a local level. The National Health Service triages patients waiting for elective care, including surgery, so that the order in which they are seen reflects clinical judgement of need as well as taking into account overall wait time.

Since coming to office, this Government has recruited thousands of extra mental health staff, increased access to National Health Service talking therapies, and announced a major expansion of community mental health support, with £187 million allocated for 100 community mental health centres (CMHCs) and £156 million for 59 mental health emergency departments (MHEDs).

CMHCs provide a single, open-access offer, available 24/7 to anyone who needs it. People with serious mental illness will be able to walk in without an appointment and receive mental health support, delivered by a multi-disciplinary team. This will reduce fragmentation in service delivery and improve continuity of care. Working in partnership with primary care, local authorities, the voluntary sector and family support networks, and with strong links to housing and employment support, the centres will deliver care close to home, tailored to local communities of between 30,000 and 50,000 people.

Alongside the community centres, MHEDs will provide fast, same-day access to specialist mental health support for people in crisis. Co-located with emergency departments, ambulance, and police services, they will offer a calm, therapeutic environment and ensure people are connected quickly to the right ongoing care, whether through inpatient admission, home treatment, or community support. In both cases, CMHCs and MHEDs will draw on the existing NHS workforce, including redeployment of staff to the new locations.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are rightly responsible for selecting locations for new facilities to make sure they meet local needs best, with schemes prioritised through regional and ICB processes before being subject to national assurance. The overall distribution of MHEDs and CMHCs was considered alongside factors such as population need, existing provision, local care pathways, strategic alignment, and deliverability. Local systems also remain responsible for ensuring that people can access emergency mental health support through the broader care pathway, including A&E units, crisis services, and other locally commissioned provision.

The first facilities in this tranche are expected to open from autumn 2026, with further sites opening from March 2027. Further details will be set out in due course as the new centres are rolled out across England. Later this year, we will also publish our new mental health strategy for England, setting out our plans to transform mental health care into a system that responds earlier, reduces waiting times for support, intervenes earlier, and supports people to stay active and participate in education, work, family, and community life.

The Department does not maintain a running total of the number of patients receiving care across the full range of health services at any one time, and is not therefore in a position to say how many are registered veterans. However, NHS England has introduced several bespoke services to improve healthcare support available to veterans. This includes Op RESTORE, Op COURAGE, and Op NOVA.

The Mental Health Act 2025, which received Royal Assent in December 2025, strengthens the rights of patients subject to the act as well as their representatives. In particular it provides clarity around responsibilities for section 117 aftercare, introduces the new role of Nominated Person in place of the Nearest Relative in order to improve patient choice, and introduces an opt out system for Independent Mental Health Advocacy services so that every patient will be made aware of their right to an advocate.

The change from Nearest Relative to Nominated Person allows the patient to choose who will support them when they are detained, rather than this being an automatic assignment from a hierarchical list. Patients can choose family and carers or anyone else whom they trust. If they choose a person who is not their carer, the carer will still be involved in the patient's care, for example, the responsible clinician must consult with the carer on the patient's care and treatment plan.

The provisions of the new act will commence under a phased approach to ensure system readiness. To support such readiness, the revised Mental Health Act Code of Practice will provide statutory guidance to National Health Service mental health providers on all policies covered in the new act, including on how to ensure that families and carers are involved in the patient's care and treatment.

No data is centrally held on the uptake of Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service provision. The following table shows the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme’s uptake over the last five financial years:

The usage of the schemes cannot be disaggregated by rural/non-rural areas as the data is not collected in this way.