Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of waiting times for cardiology services.

The latest data from March 2025 show that 60.9% of waits for cardiology services are within 18 weeks, which is a 1.6% improvement on the same month in the previous year. While this shows progress, we know there is more to do.

That is why, as well as our commitment to returning to the 92% referral-to-treatment standard for elective care by March 2029, the Elective Reform Plan commits to significant elective reform in cardiology. This includes a key milestone for 2025/26, as set out in National Health Service operational planning guidance, that by the end of March 2026, 65% of waits will be within 18 weeks, with the expectation of a 5% improvement from each provider.

Cardiology is one of five priority specialties identified for significant elective reform in the Elective Reform Plan, due to it being a large volume specialty with waiting list challenges and a high proportion of non-surgical care. Reforms will include increasing specialist cardiology input earlier in patient care pathways, and developing standard and efficient care pathways for common cardiology symptoms. It also includes improving access to cardiac diagnostic tests, including through implementing more straight-to-test pathways, where a general practitioner can refer a patient directly to secondary care for a test, which can reduce unnecessary outpatient appointments and improve waiting times even further for patients across England. These improvements to common cardiology pathways help standardise patient care, reduce inequalities, and improve access to care, especially in the early stages of the pathways, for patients across England.