Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has a strategy to reduce waiting times on the 111 Option 2 crisis response service.

To ensure that crisis care services are safe, effective, and consistently provide high quality care across England, NHS England has asked all crisis care services accessible via NHS 111 option two to move at pace and begin reporting access, responsiveness, and patient feedback measures from quarter two of 2024/25.

The collected data will enable a better understanding of where pressures exist in the system and help to drive improvements in waiting times and overall service delivery. These measures will allow NHS England and local providers to monitor performance and implement targeted strategies to reduce waiting times, therefore ensuring a timelier response for individuals in crisis.