Recommendations & Conclusions
21 items
1
Conclusion
Third Report - Concussion in sport
Acknowledged
Despite the need for acquired brain injury to be taken seriously by sport, the detail of which we will come onto later in this Report, both written and oral evidence to this inquiry support the health benefits to people through mass participation in sporting activity. An active lifestyle promotes overall …
Read more
Despite the need for acquired brain injury to be taken seriously by sport, the detail of which we will come onto later in this Report, both written and oral evidence to this inquiry support the health benefits to people through mass participation in sporting activity. An active lifestyle promotes overall good health, including reducing the risk of dementia in later life. (Paragraph 9) Grassroots sport
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the committee's conclusion, agreeing that mass participation in sporting activity offers tangible health benefits, including reducing the risk of dementia and other health conditions.
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
2
Recommendation
Third Report - Concussion in sport
Accepted
The reality is that, for most people playing sport, there is no one to stop them except themselves, their friends, teammates, and family. That is how far down the knowledge and awareness of concussion and how to respond to it must reach to ensure people seek the necessary help and …
Read more
The reality is that, for most people playing sport, there is no one to stop them except themselves, their friends, teammates, and family. That is how far down the knowledge and awareness of concussion and how to respond to it must reach to ensure people seek the necessary help and treatment rather than returning to the field to the detriment of their long-term health.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and will task a working group to develop a communications campaign to ensure participants at all levels of sport are aware of key concussion messages.
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
3
Recommendation
Third Report - Concussion in sport
Accepted in Part
Doctors may not be able to rely on patients to remember previous concussions or head traumas, especially if these happened at different times playing different sports. They must instead be able to rely on robust information that should be collated on a patient’s records.
Read more
Doctors may not be able to rely on patients to remember previous concussions or head traumas, especially if these happened at different times playing different sports. They must instead be able to rely on robust information that should be collated on a patient’s records.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government partially accepts the recommendation, stating NHSX will work to create standardized codes for sport-related concussion using SNOMED CT13 to improve data quality in patient records. It also notes the Emergency Care Data Set and Shared Care Record programme will enhance data collection and …
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
4
Recommendation
Third Report - Concussion in sport
Accepted in Part
We recommend that NHS England reviews the way in which it collates data about concussion and concussion-related brain injury and ensures that doctors have a full history available to better inform patient treatments.
Government response AI summary
The government agrees in part with the recommendation, stating NHSX will work to improve data quality and reporting by recommending the creation of specific codes for sport-related concussions, using standardised clinical coding for structured data entry.
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
5
Conclusion
Third Report - Concussion in sport
Accepted in Part
We are also concerned that the relative infrequency with which clinicians encounter this kind of condition suggests that many of them are likely to be out of date with regard to the best possible practice in treating these patients and getting them the necessary specialist treatments.
Read more
We are also concerned that the relative infrequency with which clinicians encounter this kind of condition suggests that many of them are likely to be out of date with regard to the best possible practice in treating these patients and getting them the necessary specialist treatments.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government agrees in part with the concern, committing NHS England and NHS Improvement to collaborate with several medical bodies to review existing guidance and training on sports-related concussion and make necessary improvements. However, they clarify they do not produce clinical guides or set curriculum …
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
6
Recommendation
Third Report - Concussion in sport
Accepted in Part
We recommend that NHS England, in collaboration with the Faculty of Exercise and Sport Medicine, within the next twelve months, prepares a learning module on the best practice for treating and advising those who present with concussive trauma and ensure that all General Practice and Accident & Emergency practitioners take …
Read more
We recommend that NHS England, in collaboration with the Faculty of Exercise and Sport Medicine, within the next twelve months, prepares a learning module on the best practice for treating and advising those who present with concussive trauma and ensure that all General Practice and Accident & Emergency practitioners take this module within the next 2 years. The module, and the updating of practitioners, should be repeated every 2 years thereafter. (Paragraph 27) Elite sport
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government agrees in part, committing NHS England and NHS Improvement to collaborate with several medical bodies to review existing guidance and training on sports-related concussion and make necessary improvements. However, they stop short of committing to preparing a specific new learning module within a …
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
7
Conclusion
Third Report - Concussion in sport
Accepted
The current organisational structures in sport mean that there is no overall responsibility to mandate minimum standards for concussion and head trauma or to assess whether protocols are followed. The system allows sports to be funded as long as their protocols look good on paper with no effort put into …
Read more
The current organisational structures in sport mean that there is no overall responsibility to mandate minimum standards for concussion and head trauma or to assess whether protocols are followed. The system allows sports to be funded as long as their protocols look good on paper with no effort put into assessing how those protocols work in practice. The fact that concussion does not occur at high frequency within the elite sport community means that little effort is made to drive numbers down even further. This means that, some preventable brain injuries are suffered, with the potential for long-term consequences for individuals. (Paragraph 37) Concussion in sport 31
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government agrees and will work with UK Sport and Sport England to ensure publicly funded sports use new shared concussion protocols, encouraging them to decide the best approach. It will also recommend sports utilize English Institute for Sport expertise and consider similar clinical governance …
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
8
Recommendation
Third Report - Concussion in sport
Accepted in Part
It is no longer acceptable for concussion to be addressed in this fashion. We recommend that the Government mandate UK Sport to take a governance role in assuring that all sports it funds raise awareness on the dangers of concussion effectively. Those sports should not only have good protocols to …
Read more
It is no longer acceptable for concussion to be addressed in this fashion. We recommend that the Government mandate UK Sport to take a governance role in assuring that all sports it funds raise awareness on the dangers of concussion effectively. Those sports should not only have good protocols to mitigate the risks of such injury but proactively implement those protocols.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and will work with UK Sport and Sport England to explore how to ensure publicly funded sports use new shared concussion protocols that will be commissioned. However, they will encourage rather than mandate sports, noting UK Sport's non-regulatory role.
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
9
Recommendation
Third Report - Concussion in sport
Accepted in Part
We are concerned that UK Sport, uniquely in our evidence base, considers the Consensus Statement by the Concussion in Sport Group as a satisfactory basis for concussion protocols. We recognise the value in the Consensus Statement that provides a baseline for what the science can say for certain and identifies …
Read more
We are concerned that UK Sport, uniquely in our evidence base, considers the Consensus Statement by the Concussion in Sport Group as a satisfactory basis for concussion protocols. We recognise the value in the Consensus Statement that provides a baseline for what the science can say for certain and identifies a gold standard for science in this area of research. Scientific certainty is a worthy ambition, but it should not be a prerequisite for changing sporting rules to improve safety.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and will work with UK Sport and Sport England to explore how to ensure publicly funded sports use new shared concussion protocols it intends to commission. It maintains that sports will decide how best to approach this, with encouragement …
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
10
Recommendation
Third Report - Concussion in sport
Accepted in Part
We recommend a more precautionary approach is taken and a greater proportion of the money spent on elite sport is focussed on protecting the athletes who are at the core of UK success in sporting endeavours. We also recommend that UK Sport fund a chief medical officer to attend events, …
Read more
We recommend a more precautionary approach is taken and a greater proportion of the money spent on elite sport is focussed on protecting the athletes who are at the core of UK success in sporting endeavours. We also recommend that UK Sport fund a chief medical officer to attend events, like the Olympics, who will hold over-arching responsibility to assess the application of protocols and make decisions on who should be allowed to continue to compete in the event of injuries, including head trauma, sustained in practice and competition. (Paragraph 40) Professional sport
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government partially accepts the recommendation, committing to strengthen athlete protection requirements within UK Sport funding agreements as protocols develop. However, it rejects the specific recommendation for a UK Sport-funded chief medical officer to attend major events, stating that medical provision is the responsibility of …
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
11
Conclusion
Third Report - Concussion in sport
Acknowledged
Football’s engagement with the issue of concussion, both in England and internationally, has taken too long and its current prominence is due to the campaigning of organisations like the Jeff Astle Foundation and prominent spokespersons like Chris Sutton. We would have expected the Football Association, as the National Governing Body, …
Read more
Football’s engagement with the issue of concussion, both in England and internationally, has taken too long and its current prominence is due to the campaigning of organisations like the Jeff Astle Foundation and prominent spokespersons like Chris Sutton. We would have expected the Football Association, as the National Governing Body, to have taken a stronger, sustained interest in the issue after the coroner’s verdict of Jeff Astle’s death. We would also have expected the Football Association to have been publicly hounded by the Professional Footballers’ Association, whose key concern should be player welfare. Over the past 20 years neither the Football Association nor the Professional Footballers’ Association have fought hard enough, or publicly enough, to address this issue within the broader football community. They are, however, only part of a broader failure to address the issue of acquired brain injury in sport.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the committee's conclusion regarding the past failures of football bodies to address concussion, and states its ambition to make sport safer. It intends to provide updates on its own concussion in sport initiatives through its Government Sport Strategy annual report.
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
12
Conclusion
Third Report - Concussion in sport
Acknowledged
The problems faced by both football and rugby are common to a multitude of other sports which do not have the same media attention or the same resources to apply to possible solutions. One of the biggest problems is the apparent lack of clarity on who is responsible for driving …
Read more
The problems faced by both football and rugby are common to a multitude of other sports which do not have the same media attention or the same resources to apply to possible solutions. One of the biggest problems is the apparent lack of clarity on who is responsible for driving change. Change has not happened quickly enough and while the science currently available to us describes the problem it does not provide solutions.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the committee's observations and states its ambition to ensure sport is as safe as possible. It intends to provide updates on its concussion in sport initiatives through its Government Sport Strategy annual report.
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
13
Recommendation
Third Report - Concussion in sport
Accepted in Part
The protections afforded by the state to workers apply as much to footballers and jockeys as they do to miners and construction workers. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 was a landmark piece of legislation to protect the health of workers and, along with subsequent Regulations, places a …
Read more
The protections afforded by the state to workers apply as much to footballers and jockeys as they do to miners and construction workers. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 was a landmark piece of legislation to protect the health of workers and, along with subsequent Regulations, places a duty of care on employers. The 32 Concussion in sport extent of that duty has been established through numerous court cases in many other sectors. We are astounded that sport should be left by the Health and Safety Executive to mark its own homework.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government agrees in part, supporting greater recording of sports concussion incidents but believing other organizations are better placed than HSE to collate data. HSE will assist National Governing Bodies in establishing a reporting scheme and endorse a code of practice, while the government will …
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
14
Conclusion
Third Report - Concussion in sport
Not Addressed
Our inquiry into concussion has demonstrated that the long-term effects of acquired brain injury are not simply those events that lead to a diagnosis of concussion. Therefore, any impacts that impair clear thinking or involve a heavy impact could contribute to acquired brain injury.
Read more
Our inquiry into concussion has demonstrated that the long-term effects of acquired brain injury are not simply those events that lead to a diagnosis of concussion. Therefore, any impacts that impair clear thinking or involve a heavy impact could contribute to acquired brain injury.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government's response, while detailing actions on injury recording and HSE's role, does not directly engage with the specific substance of the committee's conclusion regarding the broad nature of long-term effects of acquired brain injury beyond diagnosed concussions.
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
15
Recommendation
Third Report - Concussion in sport
Accepted in Part
We recommend that the Government immediately mandate the Health and Safety Executive to work with National Governing Bodies of all sports to establish, by July 2022, a national framework for the reporting of sporting injuries. Within a year of the framework being published, all organised sports should be required to …
Read more
We recommend that the Government immediately mandate the Health and Safety Executive to work with National Governing Bodies of all sports to establish, by July 2022, a national framework for the reporting of sporting injuries. Within a year of the framework being published, all organised sports should be required to report any event that might lead to acquired brain injury. (Paragraph 62) The need for a coherent approach
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government partially accepts the recommendation, agreeing on the need for better recording but suggesting other organisations are better placed than HSE to collate the information. It commits to looking into the feasibility of a national register and will convene a forum to discuss developing …
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
16
Recommendation
Third Report - Concussion in sport
Accepted in Part
We recommend that the Government uses its power to convene interested parties and establish a single research fund that will co-ordinate and fund research. The allocation of funds should follow the model of the research councils to ensure it is seen to be independent and excellence-driven and to ensure that …
Read more
We recommend that the Government uses its power to convene interested parties and establish a single research fund that will co-ordinate and fund research. The allocation of funds should follow the model of the research councils to ensure it is seen to be independent and excellence-driven and to ensure that the available funding is coordinated to cover the research requirements most efficiently. All research funded in this way should be required to return all results and analysis to a central database that should be freely and publicly accessible. We also recommend that the Government incentivise sport and other groups to contribute to this fund by offering a degree of match-funding.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the intention to simplify research funding but rejects establishing a single fund, citing existing medical research funds. Instead, it will convene a “sports concussion research forum” to identify research goals and share findings, aiming to improve coordination.
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
17
Recommendation
Third Report - Concussion in sport
Accepted
We also recommend that the Government convene its own specialist group on concussion, drawing on campaign groups, relevant scientific expertise and sporting institutes to assess, every four years, the emerging science on this issue. This group should take a broader view of the existing science than the Concussion in Sport …
Read more
We also recommend that the Government convene its own specialist group on concussion, drawing on campaign groups, relevant scientific expertise and sporting institutes to assess, every four years, the emerging science on this issue. This group should take a broader view of the existing science than the Concussion in Sport Group, with its priority on taking a precautionary approach to safety.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and will task the “sports concussion research forum” to undertake the role of assessing emerging science on concussion, with its full brief and reporting timeframe to be defined.
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
18
Recommendation
Third Report - Concussion in sport
Accepted
We find it difficult to see any downside of a coherent UK-wide protocol for concussion and recommend that the Government look to the Scottish model and then work with the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to develop, in the next 12 months, a UK protocol for concussion …
Read more
We find it difficult to see any downside of a coherent UK-wide protocol for concussion and recommend that the Government look to the Scottish model and then work with the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to develop, in the next 12 months, a UK protocol for concussion across all sport. This should be used by National Governing Bodies as the minimum standard in creating the rules for their sport and should take account of, and be consistent with, the national framework for the reporting of sporting injuries we recommended earlier in this Report. This protocol should be refreshed every two years.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and will work with the devolved nations and sports councils to develop a UK-wide concussion protocol, based on the Scottish model. The Sport and Recreation Alliance will lead this work, expected to start by the end of 2021 and …
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
19
Recommendation
Third Report - Concussion in sport
Accepted
Once this protocol is in place we recommend the Government deliver a comprehensive communications campaign to ensure that everyone involved in sport, from the athletes to coaches and doctors, is aware of best practice. This campaign should signpost where people can find the most current, well-evidenced advice on what action …
Read more
Once this protocol is in place we recommend the Government deliver a comprehensive communications campaign to ensure that everyone involved in sport, from the athletes to coaches and doctors, is aware of best practice. This campaign should signpost where people can find the most current, well-evidenced advice on what action to take in the event of head trauma.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and will task the working group developing concussion protocols to also create a comprehensive communications campaign to raise awareness of best practice among all involved in sport.
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
20
Recommendation
Third Report - Concussion in sport
Accepted
We are concerned that there is history of the Government looking into issues of sporting safety and failing to follow through with practical interventions that would Concussion in sport 33 make a difference to the safety and health of those participating. The reports of the 2002 Working Group and by …
Read more
We are concerned that there is history of the Government looking into issues of sporting safety and failing to follow through with practical interventions that would Concussion in sport 33 make a difference to the safety and health of those participating. The reports of the 2002 Working Group and by Baroness Grey-Thompson in 2017 both suggested ways to address the issue of concussion in sport and yet the Government has not progressed these. We urge the Government to grasp the nettle this time, move past the concerns about how regulation may change sports, and take real and effective action.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendation to take real and effective action on sporting safety and commits to providing updates on progress with its concussion in sport initiatives through its Government Sport Strategy annual report.
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
21
Recommendation
Third Report - Concussion in sport
Accepted
It will never be possible to ensure that sport is one hundred percent safe. It should, however, be expected that participants are aware of the risks involved and that there is a precautionary approach to risk management. The Government cannot avoid taking a proactive role in ensuring that this occurs. …
Read more
It will never be possible to ensure that sport is one hundred percent safe. It should, however, be expected that participants are aware of the risks involved and that there is a precautionary approach to risk management. The Government cannot avoid taking a proactive role in ensuring that this occurs. (Paragraph 83) 34 Concussion in sport
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendations to ensure sport is as safe as possible and commits to providing updates on progress with its concussion in sport initiatives through its Government Sport Strategy annual report.
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport