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 improve timely diagnosis and access to treatment for heart valve disease in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

The Department has made no specific assessment. The Frimley Health Foundation Trust (FHFT) has been developing a pathway for breathlessness to support diagnosis and will be providing access for Surrey residents, including through a community diagnostic centre (CDC).

The FHFT is also testing a new rapid access diagnostic pathway with a multi-disciplinary team for respiratory and cardiology, to agree a diagnosis and treatment plan for people with heart valve disease. The new pathway has been tested at Heatherwood Hospital and is shortly going live in the CDC. The FHFT will also roll this pathway out more widely across the trust shortly.

Nationally, the Government is committed to achieving a 25% reduction in premature mortality due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke across England. To accelerate progress and tackle variation across the country, a new CVD Modern Service Framework is currently in development.