Neuropsychiatric Conditions: PANS and PANDAS
24 Jun 2026 · Commons Chamber · 22 speeches · Official record
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I wholeheartedly agree with the right hon. Gentleman. There are very few downsides of prescribing an antibiotic, especially in this instance, given the seriousness of the condition. As he says, there is really no good reason to withhold this medication. A second challenge facing families is the impact on a child’s ability to participate in education, as they miss months of school because they are too unwell to attend. That not only affects their learning but limits opportunities to socialise, ma... Full speech
It is a privilege to respond to the debate on behalf of His Majesty’s loyal Opposition. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain) for securing the debate and for setting out the landscape facing those with PANS/PANDAS in the UK, as well as recognising the lack of knowledge about the conditions and the challenge that presents. I thank her for her sustained work through the APPG on the issue. Many right hon. and hon. Members have contributed to the debate. The hon. M... Full speech
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain) for securing the debate and for her advocacy in raising the profile of PANS/PANDAS. I also thank the hon. Member for Carlisle (Ms Minns) for the comments she made. I hope that she gets a response from her ICB very soon-I am waiting for one from mine. Last month, I attended a meeting organised by the all-party parliamentary group on PANS PANDAS, which my hon. Friend the Member for North East Fife leads, to hear from young p... Full speech
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I should know better after 21 years in this House; it just goes to show-you can always teach an old dog new tricks. Following the right hon. Gentleman’s intervention on antibiotics, I noticed that there was nothing about that in my speech, so I have come to the conclusion that that will come forward in the guidance later this year. I will be looking for that closely, and I am sure that my officials heard the point mentioned in the debate. As the right hon. Gentle... Full speech
I call the shadow Minister and welcome him to the Dispatch Box. Full speech
I thank the hon. Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain) for introducing the debate so well. It is always a pleasure in this place when I discover that I have something in common with Members from across the House. In recent months, the hon. Lady and I have discovered that we share an interest and passion for Jane Austen and hard agree that the BBC 1995 production of “Persuasion” is by far the superior, but more importantly, that we share an interest and desire to improve the diagnosis, u... Full speech
I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain) for securing this debate, and for all her work to raise the profile of these childhood conditions. I also thank the Backbench Business Committee for selecting this topic for debate. As she said, my hon. Friend first raised PANS/PANDAS in this House more than three years ago and has pushed for change ever since. Indeed, I was pleased to meet the impressive PANS PANDAS UK youth board on their visit to Parliament. Fo... Full speech
I am sorry if I did not express myself clearly enough. It is not so much a question of the non-recognition of PANS and PANDAS, but whether it has been recognised that early treatment with antibiotics can make all the difference. Full speech
Order. It was not my intervention, but that of the right hon. Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis). Full speech
I thank the hon. Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain) and the Backbench Business Committee for bringing forward today’s debate. I think we can all agree that, although the number of attendees has been small, it has been mighty in terms of the quality of contributions we have heard from hon. Members. I am also grateful for the opportunity to speak today on the subject of PANS/PANDAS. As hon. Members have highlighted, these conditions cause significant distress to many children and young... Full speech
I thank the right hon. Gentleman, who I have worked closely with on a number of health matters over a number of years, and he mentions the work that we did together on mesh. I studied my speech after listening to your earlier intervention and the conversation about antibiotics- Full speech
The right hon. Member may recall the debate we had in a previous Parliament on this subject. The Minister at the time gave the commitment that she would ensure that GPs and other medical practitioners were aware of the guidance that PANS PANDAS UK was producing. I hope we will hear today that the Minister is looking at that. There is clearly a challenge, and although the condition is recognised by the World Health Organisation and by NHS England, there is more to do to minimise the postcode lott... Full speech
I detected that the Minister was moving towards her conclusion, so I thought I would intervene before she did. She has a fine record, before she became a Minister, of campaigning on mesh-damaged women. That was an occasion where something simple was done that led to very complicated problems. Here, we have a complicated condition, but it is thought that something simple could be done-namely, guidance should be given to all GPs that if this condition is even suspected, a simple course of antibiot... Full speech
I beg to move, That this House has considered the diagnosis and treatment of Paediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) and Paediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS). It is a pleasure to open this debate, and I am grateful to colleagues who have attended, despite the immense heat. I welcome the members of the PANS PANDAS UK youth board, and the families impacted by these conditions who are here to watch the debate from the Gal... Full speech
I am sure the Minister can address that in her closing remarks. We absolutely need to ensure that. As the right hon. Member has said, amoxicillin might be one of the antibiotics that could be used. It is straightforward to use, and in the vast majority of cases it works, but if it does not, potentially PANS and PANDAS could be ruled out. Too many families face rejected referrals, long waits and, in some cases, misdiagnosis. Only a small proportion of cases are diagnosed within the NHS, and many ... Full speech
As always, the hon. Gentleman is ahead of the game; I was going to mention this. I am very much looking forward to the guidance, but we need to ensure that it is understood and shared. Full speech
The hon. Lady mentioned the all-important fact that early diagnosis, coupled with the prescribing of a quite common antibiotic -I believe amoxicillin is one of them-can make a crucial difference. In May last year, I asked in a written question whether the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care would take steps to facilitate the circulation of material to general practitioners, advising them on how to recognise PANS and PANDAS, and treat them with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medicati... Full speech
At the risk of labouring the same single point I want to make again and again, there really does seem to be no downside to telling all GPs that if there is any question at all that a child might have PANS or PANDAS, the GP should prescribe them one of the basic antibiotics, because they could benefit from it tremendously, and there is no risk of harm. Full speech
I am in awe of the hon. Member for running the marathon and, of course, for raising funds for PANS and PANDAS. Full speech
Albie is a superstar, as is his mum! I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson. Full speech
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for your very kind remarks about Albie and others in today’s debate. A number of themes have been discussed by the hon. and right hon. Members, and I have always found that the number of MPs who join the PANS PANDAS all-party parliamentary groups increases over the term of the Parliament, because they get involved through casework. Hearing from the hon. Member for Carlisle (Ms Minns), and from my hon. Friends the Members for Henley and Thame (Freddie van Mierlo) ... Full speech
I thank the hon. Lady for bringing this important issue to the House. The Government are introducing guidelines on this in the autumn. Does she welcome the publication of those guidelines, and does she hope that they will get rid of the inconsistencies and postcode lottery that she is describing? Full speech