Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is his Department's policy to maintain the target set out in section 45 of the Health Service Commissioning Board and Clinical Commissioning Groups (Responsibilities and Standing Rules) Regulations 2012 for 92 per cent of patients to access elective treatment within a maximum waiting time of 18 weeks.
A clinically-led review of National Health Service performance standards was announced by the Prime Minister in June 2018. The NHS England and NHS Improvement Clinically-led Review of Access Standards is considering the appropriateness of operational standards for physical and mental health relating to planned, unplanned (urgent or emergency care), as well as cancer care.
The existing performance standards remain in place. The testing of potential new approaches is still underway, and the Government will respond to the recommendations of the review once it is concluded