Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 15347 on Pectus Excavatum: Surgery, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact on the (a) mental and (b) physical health of children who fall below the Haller index threshold of not receiving that surgery.

In April 2023, the National Health Service published an urgent policy statement for the clinical treatment of pectus excavatum and the eligibility criteria for surgical intervention.

Any physical or psychological assessment of children who fall below the eligibility threshold for surgery to treat pectus excavatum is the responsibility of their clinician. Pectus excavatum may also be treated by non-surgical interventions.

As part of its five long-term missions, the Government has begun work on a 10-year plan for change and modernisation, to make the NHS fit for the future, ensuring a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area.