Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of patients not being hospitalised at the nearest hospital on their (a) well-being and (b) recovery.

The Department has not made a specific assessment on the impact on patients of where they are hospitalised. There are well documented benefits for patients of being treated in specialist centres of excellence, for instance, for stroke care.

NHS England and integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning and ensuring healthcare needs of local communities are met.

If a patient is referred to hospital or other National Health Service premises for specialist NHS treatment or diagnostic tests, eligible patients can claim a refund of reasonable travel costs under the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS).