Oral Answers to Questions

Gareth Snell Excerpts

Tuesday 6th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Ashley Dalton]

I thank the right hon. Member for recognising the significant investment announced today in GP services and buildings, and I would be delighted to ensure that the relevant Minister meets her.

[Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

12. What discussions he has had with Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent integrated care board on patient waiting times.

[The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)]

Driving down waiting times is one of this Government’s top priorities, and my colleagues at NHS England continue to keep in regular contact with ICBs on improving waiting times and delivering the ambitions set out in our elective reform plan. Since July, we have cut waiting lists by more than 219,000 across England, and by 6,000 for University Hospitals of North Midlands, and have delivered 3 million more appointments.

[Gareth Snell]

I thank the Minister for her answer, and recognise the Herculean effort the Department is making to reduce waiting times, particularly in Stoke-on-Trent, but one cancer patient who is having treatment at the Royal Stoke hospital in my constituency has shared her story with me. From the initial operation, it took six weeks for her to be told that she may have cancerous cells in her lymph node. There was a delay in getting the CT scan, and after the scan, she was told that it would be 10 weeks before she could meet an oncologist to discuss the results. Will the Minister say a bit more about how the Department, while reducing waiting times to access services, will make sure that treatment is given in a timely fashion once someone has a treatment plan?

[Karin Smyth]

I am sorry for the experience that my hon. Friend’s constituent has had, and he highlights a really important aspect of the patient journey through the system. I want him and the House to be assured that we are looking at the entire patient journey, both into hospital and between hospitals. We are determined to improve patient experience and quality of care, and to get back the patient satisfaction that was squandered by the last Government.