Health Services and Social Services: Children
(asked on 20th May 2024) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an estimate of the number of children that have lost their place on waiting lists for health and care services as a result of relocating out of area due to housing pressures, in the latest period for which data is available.
It is important that the correct start date is captured for patients who transfer from a referral to treatment (RTT) pathway between providers. For patients that move between different areas of England and transfer to a new provider, including children who may relocate out of an area due to housing pressures, there is an established Inter Provider Transfer process which ensures that the patient is transferred with the same RTT clock start date, so that the new provider considers the amount of time the patient has already waited. This is detailed in Section 11.3 of NHS England’s Recording and reporting RTT waiting times for consultant-led elective care guidance, which is available at the following link:
Data on the number of children that have lost their place on waiting lists for health and care services as a result of relocating out of area due to housing pressures is not collected, therefore no estimate has been made.