Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for surgery in the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation.
Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust has reopened elective services and is working towards safely reducing their waiting lists. The Trust has an elective recovery programme in place, supported by the local clinical commissioning groups. This includes the use of independent sector to treat patients in community settings and use theatres and outpatient facilities at the weekend. The Trust has also optimised its use of technology, to deliver timely and convenient care for patients and health inequalities data is complementing its clinical prioritisation to minimise the risk of treatment delays.
We have made £2 billion available in 2021/22 and a further £8 billion in the next three years to increase activity and tackle backlogs in elective care in England.