Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of patients waiting over 52 weeks for elective care in (a) England, (b) Norfolk and Waveney ICB area and (c) Queen Elizabeth King's Lynn Hospital Trust; and what his target is for eliminating waits of over a year.

Across England, at the end of November 2024, over 221,000 patient pathways involved waits of more than 52 weeks for elective treatment, which is down by over 80,000 since June 2024.

At the Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board, at the end of November 2024, over 6,800 patient pathways involved waits of more than 52 weeks for elective treatment, down by over 3,600 since June 2024. At the Queen Elizabeth King's Lynn Hospital Trust, at the end of November 2024, 585 patient pathways involved waits of more than 52 weeks for elective treatment, down from 609 in June 2024.

We have committed to achieving the NHS Constitutional standard that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment (RTT) by March 2029. The Elective Reform Plan, published on 6 January 2025, sets out how we will achieve this and the interim targets we will meet in doing so.

Whilst our focus is on achieving the RTT constitutional standard, it is unacceptable that patients are waiting over a year for care. Tackling the longest waits will be a key part of achieving our commitment and we will continue to review and treat the patients who have waited the longest, as well as monitoring progress on the 18-week standard.