To ask the Minister of Health how he will support research initiatives to encourage more people to work in the field of neurology and address current workforce shortages.

My Department’s Regional Review of Neurology report acknowledges the pressures within the current Neurology workforce. The need to grow and develop the workforce is identified as one of four key priorities in the report and has the largest number of recommendations.

In order to support this growth, it is crucial to ensure that Neurology is regarded as an attractive speciality to work in. To that end, I recognise that research initiatives can positively contribute to interest in working in Neurology.

A range of research initiatives are currently underway. These include an innovative clinical trial testing potential treatments for Motor Neurone Disease, active Neuromuscular research projects, a Headache trial and two Multiple Sclerosis research projects.

Other measures identified in the report intended to increase interest in Neurology include increased exposure at early and middle grade training. It is intended that this will maximise recruitment to the Neurology Training Programme to support recruitment and retention within the medical workforce.

In addition, a focus on multidisciplinary working, the development of career pathways and the establishment of Neurology Teams should also encourage more people to work in Neurology.

It is important to recognise, however, that implementation of the Review’s recommendations would require over £65m in additional investment. Given that the draft multi-year budget proposed for my Department is far below what is needed, it is likely that difficult funding decisions will be required. The scale and pace of implementation will therefore have to be adjusted in line with funding.