Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking with the devolved administrations to facilitate cross-border referrals for veterans where there is a clinical need or waiting lists are extremely long.

It is for the devolved administrations to determine health policies for those living in those jurisdictions. In England, all individuals are treated according to clinical need with those requiring urgent treatment prioritised accordingly, irrespective of veteran status. The Department and NHS England meet regularly with National Health Service trusts to discuss waiting lists for planned treatment. This includes assessing current progress on addressing waiting times and sharing advice to deliver on the targets in the ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’.

In addition to mainstream NHS services, there are several bespoke veteran services in England exclusively available to veterans which have shorter waiting times, including Op COURAGE.