FOI/202600515100 · FOI · not held
Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) information: FOI release
Information requested
1. Existence and Details of Treatment Pathways:
Are there nationally or locally established treatment protocols or pathways for FND within Scotland? If so, please provide copies of these protocols or guidelines, including any updates or revisions.
2. Healthcare Services and Clinics:
The number and locations of clinics, specialists, or multidisciplinary teams providing FND diagnosis and treatment services in Scotland, especially in Glasgow. The criteria for referral to these services and the typical waiting times for assessment and treatment.
3. Funding and Resource Allocation:
The level of funding allocated specifically for FND treatment and support services within Scotland and Glasgow. Any existing or planned initiatives aimed at improving FND care, including funding sources and budgets.
4. Training and Awareness:
Any programs or initiatives aimed at increasing awareness and training among healthcare professionals regarding FND diagnosis and management.
5. Future Plans and Developments:
Strategic plans or policy documents outlining future developments in FND treatment services in Scotland, especially in Glasgow.
Response
Below we have provided some of the information you requested, including links to material that is publicly available. If you have any difficulty accessing any of the linked material, please let us know. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, for other elements of your request, the Scottish Government does not hold the information. Where information is not held, we provide formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA.
1. Existence and Details of Treatment Pathways:
Are there nationally or locally established treatment protocols or pathways for FND within Scotland? If so, please provide copies of these protocols or guidelines, including any updates or revisions.
A nationally established pathway for Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) in Scotland was published by NHS Scotland’s Centre for Sustainable Delivery in May 2024 and is available here: Functional Neurological Disorder National Pathway
Decisions on the clinical management of FND are a matter for the treating clinician in partnership with the patient, taking into account the individual’s specific needs and preferences. These decisions are informed by clinical guidance and relevant best practice standards such as the Functional Neurological Disorder National Pathway and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s clinical guideline NG252: Rehabilitation for Chronic Neurological Disorders.
Additional local treatment protocols and pathways may be in place in some NHS boards. This information can be requested directly from NHS boards, which are responsible for the provision of healthcare services and are separate public authorities for the purposes of FOISA.
2. Healthcare Services and Clinics:
The number and locations of clinics, specialists, or multidisciplinary teams providing FND diagnosis and treatment services in Scotland, especially in Glasgow. The criteria for referral to these services and the typical waiting times for assessment and treatment.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested.
The Scottish Government does not hold details of the number and locations of clinics, specialists, or multidisciplinary teams providing FND diagnosis and treatment services in Scotland. This information is held by individual NHS boards, which are responsible for the provision of healthcare services and are separate public authorities for the purposes of FOISA.
You may wish to contact individual NHS boards directly to request this information.
This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested.
3. Funding and Resource Allocation:
I. The level of funding allocated specifically for FND treatment and support services within Scotland and Glasgow. II. Any existing or planned initiatives aimed at improving FND care, including funding sources and budgets.
I. The Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested, for the reasons described in Part 2.
This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested.
II. Through the Neurological Care and Support – a National Framework for Action 2020-25, and other associated improvement work, the Scottish Government funded a number of initiatives which specifically aimed to improve the information and care available to people with FND in Scotland and which have now concluded. A final report summarising the Framework’s outcomes is available here: Neurological Care and Support in Scotland: A Framework for Action 2020-2025 - Final Report - gov.scot
In some instances, NHS boards may have further continued this work or have future initiatives as part of FND or wider functional disorder or neurological care improvement work. This information can be requested directly from NHS boards, which are responsible for the provision of healthcare services and are separate public authorities for the purposes of FOISA.
The Scottish Government currently has no planned initiatives specifically regarding FND care.
4. Training and Awareness:
Any programs or initiatives aimed at increasing awareness and training among healthcare professionals regarding FND diagnosis and management.
Through the Neurological Care & Support Framework 2020-2025 we directly funded the following projects which specifically aimed to increase awareness and training among healthcare professionals regarding FND diagnosis and management:
NHS Grampian – GP education Pilot study
Funding of £15,000 was awarded in 2020-2021 to NHS Grampian for a pilot study to improve FND referral and treatment from primary care by pairing GPs with neurologists for training sessions.
The pilot study investigated possible ways to enhance knowledge and diagnosis of FND within three GP surgeries: one in Orkney and two within the City of Aberdeen.
Each was paired with one neurologist for 6 months who provided an initial interactive one hour teaching session on FND followed up by an ‘open session’ for an hour a month for the preceding 5 months to discuss patients and provide advice and further support.
NHS Grampian used knowledge from the GP training developed in this SG- funded project to inform a subsequent successful bid to NHS Charities to improve health and wellbeing of people with Functional Disorders (including FND) in NHS Grampian.
A report published in March 2023 by NHS Grampian aims to outline the proposed future pathway for functional disorders in the Grampian area: Functional Disorder — Future Health and Wellbeing.
Through its broader structural support of the NHS Scotland Centre for Sustainable Delivery, the Scottish Government has also helped enable the following initiative:NHS Lothian FND Clinical Network
Funding of £58,763 was awarded over 2023/24 and 2024/25 to NHS Lothian for an FND clinical network centred around a new role of FND specialist practitioner.
The primary aims were:
to create an integrated MDT clinical network for people with FND, linking interested specialists and creating improved patient pathways to provide education, training and support to the numerous other health professionals involved in FND to provide a relapse service for people with FND to ensure a consistent point of contact for patients with FND.
Through its broader structural support of the NHS Scotland Centre for Sustainable Delivery, the Scottish Government has also helped enable the following initiative:
National Pathway for FND
A National Pathway for FND was published in May 2024 by the NHS Scotland Centre for Sustainable Delivery. This was produced to support clinical staff to effectively diagnose and manage FND and provide patients with better access to evidence-based treatment, across Scotland: Functional Neurological Disorder National Pathway
Scottish Government officials have also undertaken the following activities to raise awareness of FND among healthcare professionals:
FND in Focus seminar
On 26 November 2025 the Scottish Government and the NHS Scotland Centre for Sustainable Delivery jointly hosted a Seminar on FND. Over 300 health and social care professionals attended the session to hear from four different clinical teams from around Scotland, who presented on elements of their work in sustaining and growing FND services in their respective regions. These comprised:
NHS Lothian Clinical Network / Care Co-ordinator Pilot NHS Forth Valley Care Co-ordinator Pilot NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde Dissociative Seizures app NHS Grampian – functional disorders support model
A recording of the webinar is available here: Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) in Focus – Webinar
Neurological Framework – practice sharing session
On 1st March 2023 Scottish Government officials hosted a practice sharing session for health and social care professionals: “Improving Knowledge and Awareness through Patient and Clinician Information” to share insights and good practice generated from various neurological improvement projects funded via the Neurological Care & Support Framework 2020-2025. Case studies were presented on the following FND-related projects:
NHS Lothian: Neurosymptoms.org website and app development NHS Grampian: Improving GP confidence in managing Functional Neurological Disorder NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde: Self-management app for people with non-epileptic seizures
5. Future Plans and Developments:
Strategic plans or policy documents outlining future developments in FND treatment services in Scotland, especially in Glasgow.
The Scottish Government has been exploring a new policy approach to long-term conditions, with a focus on ensuring equitable and sustainable access to the services that people with long-term conditions need, while allowing for targeted action on condition-specific care and support where appropriate.
Following a public consultation undertaken in 2025, a series of advisory groups were established to provide initial recommendations to the Scottish Government. When ready, these recommendations will be for new Ministers to consider.
The Scottish Government does not hold formally approved NHS board strategic plans or policy documents detailing future developments in FND treatment services, including at local level such as Glasgow. Responsibility for service planning and development rests with individual NHS boards, which are separate public authorities for the purposes of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
For information, clinicians from NHS Lothian and NHS Grampian outlined the next steps for their FND services during the recent “FND in Focus” seminar hosted by the Scottish Government. A recording of this webinar is publicly available here:
Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) in Focus – Webinar - YouTube
NHS boards’ strategic plans and policy documents outlining developments for 2026/27 onwards can be requested directly from individual NHS boards.
This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested.
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact Please quote the FOI reference Central Correspondence Unit Email: contactus@gov.scot Phone: 0300 244 4000 The Scottish Government St Andrew's House Regent Road Edinburgh EH1 3DG
Detected exemption language
Where information is not held, we provide formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested.
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