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 support the health of people with arthritis while they are waiting for elective treatment.

To support the health of people with arthritis while they are waiting for elective treatment, NHS England has worked with Versus Arthritis on their Joint Replacement Support Package, a six point package aimed at local health systems to provide to patients.

The Department has taken steps to assist those waiting for elective treatment and surgery, for instance through patient choice and the My Planned Care platform.

The Government also announced on 24 January 2023 a Major Conditions Strategy, for which an interim report will be published in the summer.