Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the analysis by Age UK on A&E wait times, published on 21 January 2026.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Age UK’s analysis reinforces the need to reduce crowding, tackle the longest waits and corridor care, and improve care for older people, all priorities for the Government.
Through the Urgent and Emergency Care Plan and the NHS Medium Term Planning Framework, we are expanding urgent community response and same day care, improving hospital flow and strengthening services for frail and older people to ensure they receive timely, appropriate care in the right setting. We are also committed to tackling corridor care and will soon start publishing data on its prevalence for the first time, following work by NHS England with trusts since 2024 to put in place new reporting arrangements. This data will help to drive improvement and transparency. Where corridor care cannot be avoided, we have published updated guidance to support trusts to deliver it safely, ensuring dignity and privacy is maintained to reduce impacts on patients and staff.
NHS England is also running the National Frailty Improvement Collaborative, which is focussed on testing and learning how to deliver evidence-based, frailty attuned care and shift appropriate care from hospital to community settings. This work will generate insights to inform national policy and planning and will improve outcomes for older people living with frailty.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to expand eligibility for the NHS Health Check, particularly for those at high risk of cardiovascular disease.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Health Check is a core component of England’s cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention programme. The programme is designed to assess the top risk factors for CVD in eligible people aged 40 to 74 years old, and to refer people to further support through behavioural interventions, clinical assessment, and treatment where appropriate.
Data shows that the older a person is, the more likely it is they will attend their NHS Health Check, with the highest uptake in the 70 to 74 age group.
The Department is considering the recommendations of the National Audit Office’s report Progress in preventing cardiovascular disease and reviewing a range of options to improve the impact of the NHS Health Check programme.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Action 15 of the National Cancer Plan, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that patients in remote and rural areas with poor access to public transport are not disadvantaged in their ability to access specialist treatment.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Cancer Plan sets out how we will tackle unwarranted geographical variation head on and ensure that everyone has access to the best diagnostic and treatment services, no matter their postcode.
We recognise that rural and coastal areas have been struggling for too long, which is why this plan is increasing the number of training places for cancer consultants in rural and coastal areas, particularly in areas where there are a high number of vacancies. This will ensure quality improvement in the trusts with the greatest needs and provide all patients with access to specialised cancer doctors.
We will utilise data driven service planning tools, to support local systems to plan specialist care in a way that is accessible to everyone. It will take account of travel time and the impact on different groups who can experience disparities, such as older people, some ethnic groups, and those that live in rural and coastal areas.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government following the internal review of the upper limit for Disabled Facilities Grants.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In England, we continue to fund the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) which is delivered by local authorities. This grant helps eligible older and disabled people on low incomes to adapt their homes to make them safe and suitable for their needs.
The upper limit for DFG grant awards is currently set at £30,000, however local authorities have a high degree of flexibility to fund adaptations above this amount where they judge it is appropriate. Following an internal review of the upper limit, we have been working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on next steps and hope to provide an update in the spring.
We have recently announced an additional £50 million for the DFG in 2025/26. This could fund approximately 5,000 additional home adaptations supporting older and disabled people to live more independently in their homes, and brings the total DFG amount this year to £761 million.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take following the internal review of the upper limit for Disabled Facilities Grants; and what his planned timetable is for further action.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In England, we continue to fund the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) which is delivered by local authorities. This grant helps eligible older and disabled people on low incomes to adapt their homes to make them safe and suitable for their needs.
The upper limit for DFG grant awards is currently set at £30,000, however local authorities have a high degree of flexibility to fund adaptations above this amount where they judge it is appropriate. Following an internal review of the upper limit, we have been working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on next steps and hope to provide an update in the spring.
We have recently announced an additional £50 million for the DFG in 2025/26. This could fund approximately 5,000 additional home adaptations supporting older and disabled people to live more independently in their homes, and brings the total DFG amount this year to £761 million.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help support community-based preventative services for older people in Sutton Coldfield constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of a broader strategy to improve quality of care and prevent unnecessary hospital admissions, the National Health Service is implementing various preventative services to support older people in maintaining their health and independence. For example, support for frailty through the NHS Toolkit, that helps general practitioners (GPs) identify and manage frailty in patients aged 65 years old and over, and preventative primary care interventions are being evaluated to improve functional ability and self-rated health for older people. The NHS 10 Year Plan aims to move care from hospitals into communities, bringing together health and care professionals to provide proactive care and prevention.
The Community Care Collaborative in Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System (ICS) has rolled out six new neighbourhood health hubs to date. These will bring together multi-disciplinary health and care professionals in each locality across Birmingham to provide easily accessible community-based care for individuals with frailty and long-term conditions.
The neighbourhood health hubs will host 11 new integrated neighbourhood teams (INTs) in Birmingham and Solihull ICS, with an aim to have teams across all 35 of its neighbourhoods by the end of 2026. The INTs provide a holistic response to an individual's care.
A recent evaluation of the first INT pilot teams to go live across the ICS shows a 31% reduction in GP appointments and fewer inpatient stays at acute hospitals.
The NHS offers several vaccinations for older adults to protect them from disease. This includes vaccination for flu, COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), shingles and pneumonia. These are delivered in the community primarily through general practice, with flu and COVID-19 vaccinations also available at community pharmacies across England, and RSV vaccinations available at select community pharmacies in some areas including Sutton Coldfield and the wider Birmingham and Solihull region.
Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what actions he is taking to reduce the length of time older people spend on trolleys in Accident and Emergency departments, including cases where patients wait many hours or days; and what assessment he has made of the impact of such waits on dignity, safety and health outcomes.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that urgent and emergency care performance has fallen short in recent years and is taking action to improve services for patients. We are committed to restoring accident and emergency waiting times to the National Health Service constitutional standard and to reducing long waits that can result in patients receiving care in inappropriate settings. To support this, we are investing £450 million to expand same-day and urgent care services and to improve hospital flow, with a focus on addressing the longest waits and improving patient experience.
As committed to in the Urgent and Emergency Care plan, we will publish data on the prevalence of corridor care for the first time. NHS England has been working with trusts since 2024 to put in place, new reporting arrangements to drive improvement. The data quality is currently being reviewed, and we expect to publish the information shortly.
Where corridor care cannot be avoided, we have published updated guidance to support trusts to deliver it safely, ensuring dignity and privacy is maintained to reduce impacts on patients and staff.
Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26 sets out clear actions to deliver improvements, reducing the proportion of patients waiting more than 12 hours for admission or discharge to less than 10% of the time. This includes expanding urgent community care, such as urgent community response, neighbourhood multidisciplinary teams, and virtual wards, to reduce avoidable emergency department attendances and hospital admissions. We have asked NHS trusts to focus on eliminating discharge delays of more than 48 hours caused by issues within the hospital, and to work with local authorities on eliminating the longest delays. The NHS Medium-Term Planning Framework sets out a year-on-year trajectory to improve performance towards the constitutional standard, reduce long waits, and improve safety and efficiency in emergency departments.
We have also introduced new clinical operational standards for the first 72 hours of care to support better hospital flow. These set minimum expectations for timely review, availability of advice, and coordinated care when multiple specialist teams are involved, to improve patient care and flow through the hospital.
Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that older patients are not discharged from hospital prematurely due to bed pressures; and what measures are in place to safeguard patient safety during the discharge process.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ensuring that all patients are discharged from hospital appropriately with the right care and support in place. Clinicians in every speciality use a set of criteria and clinical judgement to determine when a patient is medically fit for discharge, and where people need further care after discharge, multi-disciplinary care transfer hubs bring together the National Health Service, local authorities, social care, housing, and other professionals to make arrangements for safe and timely discharge.
Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what mechanisms are in place to ensure that patients discharged from hospital receive appropriate aftercare and follow‑up, particularly older patients at higher risk of complications; and whether his Department plans to improve coordination of post‑discharge support.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department continues to work with the systems facing the greatest challenges to embed best practice in discharge processes, improve patient flow, and ensure timely follow‑up and community support for those most at risk of complications.
For people who need further care after discharge, a multi-disciplinary care transfer hub in each area brings together National Health Service, local authority, social care, housing, and other professionals to ensure timely discharge and suitable ongoing care and support.
As part of the Better Care Fund framework for 2025/26, the NHS and local authorities in every area are encouraged to work together to review the capacity needed to support hospital discharge for people with more complex needs. This includes ensuring there is sufficient capacity to rehabilitation and recovery services to support a timely and effective discharge, or to support avoidable admissions. It is for local systems to determine the right mix of services for their population.
In 2026/27, the Better Care Fund will continue to focus on those services that are essential for integrated health and social care, such as hospital discharge, intermediate care, rehabilitation, and reablement.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to expand orthopaedic theatre capacity at Basildon Hospital.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In June 2026, Basildon Hospital will open a new Acute Kidney Care Ward, providing an additional 24 beds on the site and increasing capacity for people presenting to the emergency department with kidney problems, speeding up access to urgent care.
Following this, the current renal ward will be refurbished to support more medical care beds for winter and to provide space to move patients out of older wards so that improvements can be made as part of the trust’s prioritised capital programme.
In addition, two newly upgraded orthopaedic operating theatres opened at Basildon Hospital in November 2025 following essential maintenance works to improve the advanced air handling system. Since the start of November, staff working in theatres six or seven in the main theatre department have already completed hundreds of operations and procedures, including shoulder replacements, foot reconstructions, and knee replacements.
To help reduce its waiting lists, the trust is running additional capacity theatre slots, as well as outsourcing patients to other hospitals to receive their treatment and reduce waiting times. The trust is also insourcing within the hospital providers for extra outpatient capacity.