Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when elective NHS operations, including those that require (a) scans and (b) angiograms, can resume in England; and whether he will make a statement.

The restoration of elective treatments across the National Health Service has already resumed. On 31 July guidance was issued to local NHS providers and commissioners outlining the next phase of the NHS response to COVID-19 and concurrent non-COVID-19 activity. The letter can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2020/07/Phase-3-letter-July-31-2020.pdf

The guidance set the ambition for providers to recover elective services in October to 90% of last year’s levels for admissions, and 100% for outpatients. The return of non- COVID-19 health services to near-normal levels involves making full use of available capacity between now and winter, whilst also preparing for winter demand pressures. This will be done alongside continued vigilance in light of any further COVID-19 spikes locally and possibly nationally.