Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she (a) has reviewed and (b) plans to review the (i) provision and (ii) location of (A) inpatient and (B) outpatient health services in Essex.

No formal reviews have been undertaken by the Department. Inpatient and outpatient health services in Essex are provided by the Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB), Suffolk and North East Essex ICB, and the Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB. Further information of specific service provision is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/system-and-organisational-oversight/system-directory/east-of-england-region/

Local provision of services is determined by the ICBs, rather than directly by the Government, and decisions are made based on population need in the area. The Department is expanding diagnostic capacity across the National Health Service by rolling out more community diagnostic centres (CDCs), delivering vital tests, scans, and checks. With 154 CDCs open already, and up to 160 set to open by March 2025, these offer millions of patients the chance to access quicker, more convenient checks outside of hospitals, with capacity prioritised for cancer. Across all three ICBs in Essex, we have opened five CDCs in the past year, with another location approved by the Department.

We are also increasing activity through dedicated and protected surgical hubs, focusing on providing high volume, low complexity surgery, as recommended by the Royal College of Surgeons of England. There are currently 100 elective surgical hubs that are operational across England, including the Braintree Community Hospital in Essex, as of February 2024. These surgical hubs will help separate elective care facilities from urgent and emergency care.