Recommendations & Conclusions
10 items
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.
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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.
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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 …
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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.
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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relative infrequency with which clinicians encounter this kind of condition suggests that many of them are likely to be out of date with regard to the best possible practice in treating these patients and getting them the necessary specialist treatments.
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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relative infrequency with which clinicians encounter this kind of condition suggests that many of them are likely to be out of date with regard to the best possible practice in treating these patients and getting them the necessary specialist treatments.
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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 …
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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 …
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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
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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 …
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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 …
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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.
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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.
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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 …
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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.
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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 …
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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, …
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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
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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 …
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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 …
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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.
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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 …
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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 …
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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
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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 …
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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 …
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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.
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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.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport