Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve waiting times in hospitals in (a) Bournemouth East constituency and (b) England.

With NHS England and NHS Improvement, we have regular discussions with National Health Service trusts on waiting lists for planned treatment. These discussions include assessing current progress in addressing backlogs, offering support and sharing advice to deliver the targets within the ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’.

The University Hospitals of Dorset NHS Trust are optimising efficiencies within surgical theatres and improving staff and patient experience through the Trust’s Enabling Excellence, Digital Outpatients and Pathway Transformation programme.