Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that victims of cardiac arrest are immediately referred to the cardiac rehabilitation programme.

In December 2024, to support local systems to commission high quality cardiac rehabilitation, NHS England published the document, Commissioning standards for cardiac rehabilitation. This document is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/commissioning-standards-for-cardiovascular-rehabilitation/

These standards of care complement the British Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation’s Standards and Core Components document, published in 2023, to support the delivery of high-quality care and adherence to evidenced-based practice. More information is available at the following link:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/66cc563eecc7a22020c7da6c/t/66ffa8f20aef5d0b272c6b0e/1728030962905/BACPR+Standards+and+Core+Components+2023.pdf

Patients who survive cardiac arrest and their families are supported through referral to local services within the National Health Service; this will include rehabilitation such as cardiac and neurological rehabilitation and mental health services for psychological support.

There are different pathways for cardiac arrest survivors, depending on the severity of the damage caused by the cardiac arrest. For people being discharged from secondary care and those with ischemic heart disease, namely myocardial infarction, cardiac rehabilitation services are available in every region. For this reason, the Government does not currently have plans to bring forward legislative proposals on this issue.