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 help ensure that the Trauma and Orthopaedic waiting lists are improved in line with elective reform targets.

Reducing waiting lists, including for trauma and orthopaedic (T&O) services, is a key part of the Government’s Health Mission. As set out in the Plan for Change, 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. We are on track, hitting our first interim target of 65% in March 2026.

Since July 2024, performance in T&O services has improved, as the waiting list has reduced by 7,016 and the percentage of T&O pathways waiting within 18 weeks has increased by 3.0%. Despite this improvement, T&O performance against the 18-week standard, at 59.1%, remains below the national average, of 65.0%. We know that to meet our target of 92% we must see significant improvements across all specialties, including T&O, and we know that there’s more to do to drive that improvement.

The Elective Reform Plan sets out the productivity and modernisation efforts needed to reach the 92% standard by March 2029. This includes expanding the number of surgical hubs, where T&O is a key specialty, over the next two years to increase surgical capacity and deliver faster access to common procedures. Also, through the Getting It Right First Time programme, we are also supporting trusts to improve pathways, including through best practice guidance and multidisciplinary support for hip and knee replacement services.