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 the waiting times for joint replacement surgery.

The Department has committed £1.5 billion to fund new surgical hubs, increase bed capacity and purchase new equipment to enhance surgical capacity for high volume elective procedures, such as hip and knee joint replacements. The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ set out NHS England’s plans to improve patient pathways to reduce avoidable delays. This will focus on some of the most common types of care, including musculoskeletal services.