Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on (1) patients, (2) care homes, and (3) hospices, of brain tumour operations which have been delayed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on services will not be known for some time. Cancer services remain a priority for the National Health Service and thanks to the efforts of staff, have been maintained throughout the pandemic.

In order to ensure that cancer treatment can continue during the pandemic, the NHS has established COVID-19 secure cancer hubs, consolidating cancer surgery and centralising triage to prioritise based on clinical need, and drawing on the independent sector (IS) to increase capacity. Regions are drafting plans on how to maximise IS use over the next six weeks to cope with COVID-19 surges. Urgent cancer surgery patients are the first priority for accessing IS services. In local escalation plans, any decision to reschedule cancer treatment will be a last resort.