Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to (1) change services to patient care and experience; and (2) invest in the field of multidisciplinary and integrated perioperative care, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 has affected every part of local health and care systems. To respond to the challenge, National Health Service organisations, local councils and others are working across traditional organisational and team boundaries.

The NHS is investigating ways to ‘lock in’ beneficial changes to patient care and experience which have been introduced during the COVID-19 outbreak. These include backing local initiative and flexibility; enhanced local system working; strong clinical leadership; flexible and remote working where appropriate; and rapid scaling of new technology-enabled service delivery options such as a digital-consultations.

Similarly, a full programme of NHS-led work, through Integrated Care Systems and sustainability and transformation partnerships, will aim to join up services and foster multidisciplinary team working, to make perioperative care more responsive and convenient for patients across the full pathway; before, during and after surgery.