Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the equality of access to a hospital of choice through the NHS e-Referral Service (a) across England, (b) for Hospital Trusts in the London region and (c) for Barts NHS Health Trust, by (i) geography of residence, (ii) ethnicity and (iii) deprivation.

No assessment has been made. The National Health Service e-Referral Service (e-RS) does not record data on ethnicity and deprivation. Where appropriate, general practitioners (GPs) should include relevant sensitive patient information within the clinical referral information shared with the chosen provider to support the referral. The referring GP is responsible for ensuring that all options offered to patients are appropriate for their clinical, social and accessibility needs. The e-RS records data on the source of the referral, including the patient’s post code. This data is available to regional NHS commissioners.