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 reduce waiting times in urology departments in (a) Nottinghamshire, (b) the East Midlands and (c) nationwide.

Reducing waiting lists is a key part of the Government’s Health Mission, and we are committed to putting patients first, ensuring that they are seen on time and that they have the best possible experience of care.

We set a national ambition that by March 2026, 65% of patients would wait no longer than 18 weeks. Thanks to our record investment, modernisation, and the remarkable efforts of National Health Service staff across the country, we have met this ambition, meaning patients are getting treated faster, getting back to work, and no longer waiting in pain or uncertainty.

For urology services in England, the urology waiting list in England has fallen by almost 37,000 since the Government entered office, to 377,265 in March 2026. Over this same period, performance against the 18-week standard has improved by 9.3%, from 57% to 66.3%.

Urology services across the East Midlands have also seen improvements in performance. All three integrated care boards (ICBs) in the East Midlands were performing better than the Midlands average, at 65.1%, against the 18-week standard as of the end of March 2026. The following table shows 18 week performance across the East Midland ICBs in June 2024 and March 2026:

Source: Consultant-led Referral to Treatment Waiting Times Data 2025-26, available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2025-26/
Note: the above table excludes missing estimates for non-reporting trusts.

The NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB, the NHS Lincolnshire ICB, and the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB have implemented a comprehensive programme of actions to reduce urology waiting times, including increased surgical and outpatient capacity, expanded diagnostic provision, pathway redesign, workforce growth, and strengthened cross system coordination. These measures are already improving patient flow and are expected to continue reducing waiting lists and waiting times over the coming months.