Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of NHS urgent and emergency care services.

The Government is committed to supporting the National Health Service to reduce urgent and emergency service waiting times, and to achieve the standards set out in the NHS Constitution.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ordered an investigation of NHS performance by Professor Lord Darzi. The report, which was published on 12 September 2024, includes an assessment of the pressures on urgent and emergency care services, and is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66f42ae630536cb92748271f/Lord-Darzi-Independent-Investigation-of-the-National-Health-Service-in-England-Updated-25-September.pdf