Heart Diseases and Respiratory Diseases: Transplant Surgery
(asked on 14th April 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the efficacy of support provided to patients before and after heart and lung transplants, including follow-up care and psychological support.
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring timely and equitable access to heart and lung transplantation services and of improving patient outcomes.
Heart and lung transplant services provide multidisciplinary assessment, ongoing follow‑up, and access to psychological support where clinically indicated, ensuring that care addresses both physical and mental health needs across the patient pathway, before and after transplantation. The quality and effectiveness of care are monitored through national audit, service review, and patient feedback.
Evidence has identified variation in how aspects of service specifications and patient engagement are implemented across transplant services. This was highlighted in the Implementation Steering Group for Organ Utilisation’s Improving Patient Engagement in Organ Transplantation: Recommendations for Best Practice report, which sets out areas for improvement in consistency and patient experience. This report is available at the following link:
NHS England is working with patient representatives, NHS Blood and Transplant, and transplant centres through a national improvement programme which includes work to address unwarranted variation and strengthen holistic, patient‑centred care before and after transplantation, in addition to wider work to improve access, workforce sustainability, and service resilience.