Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) reduce delays and (b) improve (i) flow and (ii) efficiency in NHS Surgical Theatres.

As set out in the Elective Reform Plan, we are committed to returning by March 2029 to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment, which includes those waiting for surgical procedures.

The productivity and modernisation efforts needed to meet that standard includes the expansion of the number of elective surgical hubs. Hubs, which are protected from urgent and emergency care, improve patient outcomes and reduce hospital pressures by reducing cancellations and improving efficiency. They focus on high-volume, low-complexity procedures, support day-case surgery, and align with the standards of the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme, including a national target of 85% theatre utilisation. NHS England, in partnership with the Royal College of Surgeons of England, runs a surgical hub accreditation programme to ensure hubs meet best practice standards, including theatre utilisation. Currently, 125 hubs are operational, with 63 accredited. Theatre utilisation across all specialties reached 81% in August 2025, up from 79% the previous year.

To support these improvements, the National Theatre Programme, led by GIRFT since 2021, provides national guidance as well as targeted support for trusts to improve theatre productivity. To drive forward further progress, one of the areas of focus for 2025/26 is the establishment of ‘high flow theatre’ lists becoming regular practice across the country. Further national actions include earlier and more robust pre-operative risk-assessment to support earlier identification of patients suitable for treatment at hubs, productivity initiatives focussing on flow, scheduling, utilisation and workforce, and the deployment of data analytics and digital scheduling tools to improve real-time theatre management.