Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has a target waiting time for non-urgent adult referrals; and if he will make a statement.

Patient access standards are already established for non-urgent adult referrals. These are described in The Handbook to The NHS Constitution which states patients have the right to start consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral for non-urgent conditions. The Handbook is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supplements-to-the-nhs-constitution-for-england