Department of Health and Social Care written question – answered at on 16 July 2026.
Daisy Cooper
Deputy Leader, Liberal Democrats, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Treasury)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to help improve NHS (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment pathways of patients suffering a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak.
Daisy Cooper
Deputy Leader, Liberal Democrats, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Treasury)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of developing a nationally coordinated (a) diagnosis pathway and (b) specialist service for patients with a suspected cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak.
Preet Kaur Gill
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care
Treatment for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks depends on the cause, site, and severity of the leak. CSF leaks are often treated conservatively, while others require procedures such as epidural blood patching, targeted patching, endoscopic skull-base repair, neurosurgical/spinal repair or, in selected cases, endovascular treatment of a CSF-venous fistula. These interventions are delivered through established specialist services and multidisciplinary teams.
Patients are managed through existing local and regional specialist pathways, with referral to centres with relevant expertise where required.
Yes1 person thinks so
No0 people think not
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
