Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the level of vacancies for consultant dermatologists in the South East; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of these vacancies on patient waiting times.

No specific assessment has been made.

The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ sets out that the National Health Service will expand workforce capacity by identifying and addressing vacancies in specific staff groups and sectors. We will also implement measures to retain NHS staff, including local support for mental and physical health and wellbeing. We have also created 15 additional postgraduate training posts in dermatology from August 2022.