Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provision of secondary care for residents in Hemel Hempstead constituency.

No specific assessment has been made. The appropriate provision and configuration of local services to best meet the needs of the local population and patients is a matter for National Health Service commissioners to consider.

The Government has been clear that NHS services are currently not meeting the high standards that patients should expect, and is committed to supporting the NHS to return to the standards set out in the NHS Constitution.

As a first step, my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has appointed the Professor Lord Darzi to lead an independent investigation of NHS performance, which will report in September 2024.