Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce cardiology waiting lists in Lincolnshire.

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 across all specialties, including cardiology. As a first step towards achieving this, we delivered on our interim target that 65% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks by March 2026.

Since coming into office, the Government has improved cardiology waiting times nationally, with a waiting list reduction of almost 31,000 and an 8.1% improvement in the proportion of waits below 18 weeks. The Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board has 70.5% of its cardiology waiting list below 18 weeks, over 2% better than the national average.

As set out in the Elective Reform Plan we are investing in modernisation, reforming and simplifying pathways, increasing surgical and diagnostic capacity, and empowering patients with faster and more convenient access to care. These actions will improve waiting times for all patients, and specifically cardiology as a priority speciality.