Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding has been made available to enable hospitals to increase their numbers of endoscopists to meet current and future demand.

To address the increasing demand for endoscopy services, Health Education England (HEE) has worked with the Joint Advisory Committee on Gastrointestinal Endoscopy to develop a clinical endoscopist training programme.

HEE is providing an employer support package of £15,000 per National Health Service trainee to trusts for the programme. This has been provided to cohorts starting in September and December 2018 and for April and October 2019.

An initial evaluation shows trainees are helping to meet clinical demand, reduce waiting lists and contributing to a good patient experience.