Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) reduce waiting lists and (b) expand provision for pain management services in Stoke-on-Trent.

Tackling waiting lists and expanding provision is a key part of our Health Mission and a top priority for the Government. We have committed to getting back to the NHS constitutional standard that 92% of patients should be seen within 18 weeks of referral to treatment by the end of this Parliament.

On 6 January 2025, NHS England published the new Elective Reform Plan, part of the Government’s Plan for Change, which sets out a whole system approach to reducing waiting lists and hitting the 18-week target by the end of this Parliament. The plan sets out the efforts needed to ensure that patients are seen on time and have the best possible experience during their care, including those using the National Health Service in Stoke-on-Trent.

We have set an ambition to make progress on the 18-week standard in 2025/26 so that 65% of patients nationally wait no longer than 18 weeks and set a target for all Trusts to improve on their current performance on this standard by a minimum of five percentage points by March 2026.

Currently, the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, on average, runs 11 clinics each week in the main outpatient department at Royal Stoke University Hospital for pain management. The trust also host the Stoke-on-Trent Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC). The CDC is open and delivering more timely, accessible, and additional diagnostic tests for patients in Stoke-on-Trent. Under our plan, we expect all CDCs to open 12 hours per day, seven days a week, to deliver additional diagnostic capacity for local populations.