Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has taken steps to (a) increase access to paediatric interventional radiology services and (b) ensure that every hospital has a strategy for dealing with out-of-hours emergencies requiring those services since 2010.

The Surgery in Children Clinical Reference Group (CRG) provides clinical leadership and advice to NHS England and the Surgery in Children Operational Delivery Group, including on paediatric imaging and interventional radiology. Since the COVID-19 pandemic surgery restoration and recovery have been prioritised, however, the issues linked to access to interventional radiology are to be presented to the Women and Children’s Programme of Care on the 28 June 2023 and will also be presented to Surgery in Children Operational Delivery Networks to incorporate into their respective work programmes during 2023/24.