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 ensure the NHS maximises use of the independent sector capacity to reduce NHS waiting lists as set out in the recent NHS Elective Recovery Plan.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic the Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement have worked with the independent sector to secure appropriate inpatient capacity and other resource in England. National Health Service systems continue to work with independent providers to secure the capacity for delivering the NHS Elective Recovery Plan.

The Department’s published Consultant-led Referral to Treatment Waiting Times data shows the number of episodes of treatment and care delivered by the independent sector. Between March 2020 and March 2022, the independent sector provided the NHS with surgical capacity, access to additional private hospital staff, equipment, facilities and diagnostics, delivering approximately four million treatments and diagnostic tests.