Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the capacity of urgent treatment centres, minor injuries units, and walk-in services in West Sussex to reduce pressure on accident and emergency departments; and what national funding or guidance is available to ensure these services are adequately staffed during periods of peak demand.

The Government aims to provide additional capacity for minor urgent health problems, ensuring that resources are targeted appropriately and that emergency care remains available for the most acutely unwell patients, reducing pressure on accident and emergency departments this winter.

The Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26 focuses on those improvements that will see the biggest impact on urgent and emergency care performance this winter and on making urgent and emergency care better every day. It is backed by a total of nearly £450 million of funding, including £250 million of capital investment for the continued expansion of co-located urgent treatment centres and same-day emergency care.

We are also expanding urgent care in primary, community, and mental health settings, increasing vaccination uptake, and offering health checks to the most vulnerable. Integrated care boards and trust winter plans have been stress-tested to ensure resilience, reducing pressure on accident and emergency departments this winter.

During periods of industrial action, robust plans were in place to minimise disruption, including agreed patient safety mitigations with unions, elective care rescheduling, and maintaining urgent and emergency services.