Concussion in sport

Culture, Media and Sport Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 3 Mar 2021 Closed: 23 Mar 2022 Parliament page
MPs will examine links between sport and long-term brain injury. The concussion in sport inquiry will consider scientific evidence for links between head trauma and dementia and how risks could be mitigated with two sessions, the first taking place on Tuesday 9 March.
15 Recommendations
6 Conclusions
1 Report
5 Oral sessions
2 Letters
5 Events
Activity timeline 9 events
24 Mar
2022
Correspondence
10 Dec
2021
Report published
22 Jul
2021
Report published
25 May
2021
Oral evidence
18 May
2021
Oral evidence
27 Apr
2021
Oral evidence
23 Mar
2021
Oral evidence
12 Mar
2021
Correspondence
9 Mar
2021
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 5 sessions
25 May 2021
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Ben Dean · Department for Culture, Media and Sport Nigel Huddleston MP · HM Treasury
18 May 2021
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Dr Niall Elliott · Sport Scotland Dr Rod Jaques OBE · English Institute of Sport Phil Smith · Sport England Professor Alistair Burns CBE · NHS England Sally Munday · UK Sport Stewart Harris · Sport Scotland Tim Hollingsworth OBE · Sport England
27 Apr 2021
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Damian Hopley MBE · The Rugby Players Association Dr John Etherington CBE · Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine UK Dr Richard Sylvester · Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health Gordon Taylor OBE · Professional Footballers Association Paul Struthers · Professional Players Federation
23 Mar 2021
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Bill Sweeney · Rugby Football Union Chris Sutton Dawn Astle Dr Charlotte Cowie · The Football Association Dr Éanna Falvey · World Rugby Dr Mike Loosemore · TeamGB boxing and TeamGB snow sports Eleanor Furneaux Kyran Bracken MBE Monica Petrosino Professor John Fairclough
9 Mar 2021
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Dr Michael Grey · UK Acquired Brain Injury Forum Peter McCabe · Headway Professor Craig Ritchie Professor William Stewart Richard Oakley · Alzheimer's Society
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Third Report - Concussion in sport HC 46 22 Jul 2021 21 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
10 results
Clear
3 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Third Report - Concussion in sport
Doctors may not be able to rely on patients to remember previous concussions or head...
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 … Read more
Government Response
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 sharing.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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4 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Third Report - Concussion in sport
We recommend that NHS England reviews the way in which it collates data about concussion...
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
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.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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5 Conclusion Accepted in Part
Third Report - Concussion in sport
We are also concerned that the relative infrequency with which clinicians encounter this kind of...
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 … Read more
Government Response
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 for GPs or emergency clinicians.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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6 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Third Report - Concussion in sport
We recommend that NHS England, in collaboration with the Faculty of Exercise and Sport Medicine,...
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 … Read more
Government Response
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 fixed timeline or ensuring mandatory recurring training for practitioners, noting their limitations in producing clinical guides or setting curriculum.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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8 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Third Report - Concussion in sport
It is no longer acceptable for concussion to be addressed in this fashion.
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 … Read more
Government Response
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.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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9 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Third Report - Concussion in sport
We are concerned that UK Sport, uniquely in our evidence base, considers the Consensus Statement...
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 … Read more
Government Response
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 rather than a mandate.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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10 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Third Report - Concussion in sport
We recommend a more precautionary approach is taken and a greater proportion of the money...
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 … Read more
Government Response
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 the British Olympic Association and British Paralympic Association.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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13 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Third Report - Concussion in sport
The protections afforded by the state to workers apply as much to footballers and jockeys...
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 … Read more
Government Response
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 investigate a national register and convene a forum to develop a standard framework for recording head injuries.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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15 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Third Report - Concussion in sport
We recommend that the Government immediately mandate the Health and Safety Executive to work with...
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 … Read more
Government Response
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 a standard framework for reporting head injuries.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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16 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Third Report - Concussion in sport
We recommend that the Government uses its power to convene interested parties and establish a...
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 … Read more
Government Response
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.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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Government Response AI assessment · 21 of 15 classified
Accepted 7
Accepted in Part 10
Acknowledged 3
Not Addressed 1
Total 15 recs + 6 conclusions
Correspondence 2 letters
24 Mar 2022 To committee Letter from Gordon Taylor OBE, Chief Executive, Professional Footballers' Association, relating to concussion in sport, 4 May 2021
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12 Mar 2021 To committee Letter from the Chair to Tim Davie, Director-General, BBC, re mixed martial arts on the BBC, 12 March 2021
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