1. “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.”
The Government agrees in part with this recommendation. NHSX will continue to work with NHS England, NHS Improvement and NHS Digital to improve data quality and reporting by recommending the creation of codes for concussion resulting from sport. The adoption of standardised clinical coding with SNOMED CT13 allows staff to enter concussion and concussion-related brain injuries as structured data into a patient’s record. Reliably collating this information at a national level is dependent on a number of factors including patient consent to data sharing and the entering of accurate coded information by staff. The Emergency Care Data Set (ECDS) is also expected to improve data collection related to head injuries.
The Summary Care Record currently allows the sharing of key information from the GP care record and NHS Trusts to other authorised staff – including coded medical diagnoses. The NHSX Shared Care Record programme is building on this by allowing a more dynamic flow of information between partners in a local health and care system – creating a single complete picture of the individual patient to help inform treatments.
2. “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.”
The Government agrees in part with this recommendation. NHS England and NHS Improvement will work with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), Health Education England (HEE), the Faculty for Sport and Exercise Medicine, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine and the Royal College of General Practitioners to look at existing relevant guidance and training, and undertake any changes that need to be made to improve the management for people who suffer concussion as a result of sport.
NHS England and NHS Improvement do not produce clinical guides, nor do they set the curriculum or learning needs for General Practitioners or Emergency Medicine Clinicians.





