Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce waiting times for diagnostic cardiology services, and what assessment they have made of the potential role of digital health solutions in improving patient outcomes.

We inherited a broken National Health Service, and reducing elective waiting lists is a key part of getting it back on its feet and building an NHS that is fit for the future. To that end we have committed to achieving the NHS Constitutional standard that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029. Cutting waiting times for diagnostic tests, including those for cardiology, is a crucial step in reducing the elective waiting list.

My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced at the October statement £600 million of capital to support the reduction of diagnostic waiting lists, which includes continued investment in new and expanded community diagnostic centres (CDCs), new acute hospital diagnostic equipment, and investment in digital diagnostic capabilities.

Between July 2024 and August 2025, existing CDCs have carried out a total of 286,260 echocardiography tests and 260,040 electrocardiography tests. Many CDCs are also implementing innovative cardiac pathways to speed up diagnosis and access to treatment for patients with symptoms suggestive of cardiac disease. Our Elective Reform Plan commits to building up to five new CDCs in 2025/26, alongside increasing the operating hours of existing sites so that more offer services 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

The NHS is investing in digital health solutions to improve patient outcomes in cardiology. This includes enabling remote patient monitoring, early intervention, and greater patient engagement through personalised management plans and educational tools. These solutions allow for continuous data collection from home, which helps clinicians detect and respond to deterioration sooner, potentially preventing hospital admissions and improving long-term health management. They also support early detection, diagnosis, and monitoring.

In addition, NHS England has invested in digital capability which is helping to speed up the reporting of tests routinely used in cardiology services, including artificial intelligence cardiac computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.