Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to ensure that (a) chemotherapy and (b) organ transplants that have been suspended due to the covid-19 outbreak are resumed as soon as possible.

National Health Service providers have previously been asked to maintain access to essential cancer treatments throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, in line with guidance from the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and NHS England and NHS Improvement.

Cancer Alliances will continue to identify surgical capacity for cancer, and providers are working to make Cancer Hubs around England fully operational. Full use should be made of the available contracted independent sector hospital and diagnostic capacity locally and regionally.

NHS England, NHS Improvement and NHS Blood and Transplant have been working closely together to ensure that organ donation and transplant activity could safely continue during the COVID-19 pandemic for very urgent life-saving transplants.