Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her department has made of the number of additional specialist heart failure nurses required to meet current and projected demand.

The Department does not hold data on the proportion of patients referred with suspected heart failure receiving an echocardiogram within the diagnostic timeframes.

No such assessment has been made of the number of additional specialist heart failure nurses required to meet current and projected demand.

The Government will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to ensure the National Health Service has skilled staff where patients need them. The plan will set out the action we will take to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.