Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to areas of healthcare provision which have significant waiting lists for treatment, whether he is taking steps to (a) arrange for the provision of fast-track clinics and (b) ensure that people receive the necessary tests and assessments to identify how urgently they require treatment.

The National Health Service is reviewing policies on waiting list management to prioritise patients with the most urgent conditions to receive rapid diagnosis and treatment and address any inequalities.

We have announced an additional £1.5 billion for the recovery of elective services, including developing surgical hubs and £2.3 billion to increase the volume of diagnostic activity and reduce patient waiting times. This aims to launch up to 160 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) in the next three years. Following successful pilots in London, further surgical hubs will be launched to increase surgical capacity. The expansion of CDCs will ensure approximately 37.9% additional capacity for magnetic resonance imaging, 44.7% for computerised tomography, 26.8% for ultrasound, 23.1% for echocardiography and 18.7% in endoscopy by March 2025, compared to pre-pandemic levels. Existing CDCs have delivered over one million additional checks to date.