Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with NHS Trusts on improving access to helipads for emergency air ambulance services.

Hospital helipads play an important role in supporting the transfer of critically ill patients and access to specialist services. Responsibility for the provision and management of hospital helipads rests with local National Health Service organisations, working with relevant planning, aviation, and local authority bodies. Decisions on investment in hospital helicopter landing sites, including any upgrades required to support night-time operations, are primarily a matter for local NHS organisations. Organisations may consider such improvements as part of their wider estate planning and capital investment priorities, subject to the availability of funding and any relevant local planning, environmental, and operational requirements.

The Department continues to work with NHS England, the Civil Aviation Authority, and other partners to consider issues relating to hospital helipad access and resilience.