Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of waiting lists for gynaecology appointments within NHS England; and what steps they will take to reduce them.

It is unacceptable that patients are waiting too long to get the care they need. The Department and NHS England are continuously monitoring data on performance and demand for elective care, including for gynaecology services.

At the end of September 2024, the gynaecology waiting list in England stood at 587,909, with 54.6% of Referral to Treatment (RTT) patient pathways waiting within 18 weeks. The median average RTT waiting time for gynaecology incomplete pathways was 15.9 weeks in September 2024.

Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission. We will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments per week, including for gynaecology services, in our first year of Government, as a first step in our commitment to ensuring that patients can expect to be treated within 18 weeks.

There are a range of efforts underway to address the challenges identified and to reduce the time patients are waiting for gynaecological care, including support to trusts where performance is of concern, ongoing efforts to transform outpatient pathways, and the use of surgical hubs which provide high volume low complexity surgery.

In addition, women’s health hubs bring together healthcare professionals and existing services to provide integrated women’s health services in the community. Women’s health hubs aim to improve access to care, patient experiences, and health outcomes for women, whilst reducing healthcare inequalities.