Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, If he will make a comparative assessment of the adequacy of NHS care at (a) weekends and (b) weekdays.

The National Health Service is committed to ensuring safe, high-quality care is available to patients seven days a week, whether they require emergency treatment or ongoing care. While there are natural variations in activity levels between weekends and weekdays, such as lower elective activity at weekends, hospital teams prioritise urgent care needs to ensure timely and effective treatment regardless of the day. Hospital staffing on weekends is designed to address the severity of patients' conditions and the demands on services.