Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what is the minimum number of annual procedures NHS England requires hospitals to deliver before they are allowed to treat cancer patients with stereotactic ablative radiotherapy.

NHS England’s radiotherapy service specification states that providers of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy must serve a minimum population of 2 million and treat 25 cases per year. It should be noted that a range of other factors could also influence the outcome of these discussions, including referral pathways and quality requirements.