Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support his Department provides to knee replacement patients who have been waiting longer than 12 months for treatment.

Patients in England have a right to start consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral for non-urgent conditions, or for the National Health Service to take all reasonable steps to offer range of suitable alternative providers if this is not possible and this is what the patient wants. Patients must contact the provider they have been referred to or their local clinical commissioning group before alternatives can be investigated. Anyone who is concerned about the length of time they have been waiting for an operation should discuss this with their general practitioner, particularly if their condition worsens.