Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to reduce waiting time for elective surgeries for people in Wellingborough constituency.

Cutting waiting lists is one of the Prime Minister’s top priorities. To reduce the National Health Service’s waitlist, the Department plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25. This funding will expand capacity by creating a new network of community diagnostic centres, and maximising all available independent sector capacity. In addition, we are managing demand through specialised advice in primary care, and giving patients more control over where they receive their care.

To reduce waiting times for elective surgeries specifically, we are transforming the way the NHS provides elective surgeries, by increasing activity through dedicated and protected surgical hubs. £1.5 billion of funding has been awarded for the development of new surgical hubs and the expansion of surgical hub sites, as well as increased bed capacity and equipment, to help elective services recover. The hubs will focus on providing high volume low complexity surgery, as recommended by the Royal College of Surgeons of England. There are currently 100 elective surgical hubs that are operational across England, as of March 2024. These surgical hubs help to separate elective care facilities from urgent and emergency care.