Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what analysis his Department and NHS England have carried out to determine what standard of high-risk general surgery a site should be providing in order to be an appropriate site for carrying out (a) complex cardiac surgery and (b) other tertiary services.

The standards a site should be providing in order to be an appropriate site for carrying out complex cardiac surgery and other tertiary services are already set out by the professional bodies (Royal College of Surgeons, Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland) and NHS England Specialised Services service specifications.