Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the restoration of planned surgery will be accompanied by (a) an assessment of and (b) investment in the staffing and resources required to deliver that surgery safely, efficiently and sustainably.

National Health Service local systems and organisations have been asked to work with regional colleagues to step up non-COVID-19 urgent services as soon as possible. This needs to be a safe restart with full attention to infection prevention and control as the guiding principle.

In addition, service providers have been asked to work across local systems and with regional teams to begin to reset routine non-urgent elective care. These plans factor in the availability of staff, associated medicines, personal protective equipment, blood, consumables, equipment and other needed supplies.