Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help tackle the misdiagnosis of Postural Tachycardia Syndrome.

Services for people with postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs have a statutory responsibility to provide a health service for the local population, subject to local prioritisation and funding, which includes access to specialist medical services for people with PoTS as appropriate.

Providing a PoTS specialist service is a fundamental part of ICBs’ statutory functions to plan and deliver health services for their local populations, to improve service quality and reduce health inequalities. In commissioning specialist PoTS services, we expect ICBs to use their local knowledge and commissioning authority to consult with patient groups, work collaboratively with clinicians, and design care pathways that ensure patients receive coordinated evidence-based care.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out a transformative vision for the National Health Service that will support efforts to reduce regional inequalities in access to services for people with PoTS. The shifts outlined in the plan will free up hospital-based consultants’ time by shifting care from hospitals to communities, utilising digital technology to reduce administrative burdens, and promoting preventative measures to reduce the severity of conditions that lead to hospital admissions. This includes expanding community-based services, employing artificial intelligence for productivity, developing integrated neighbourhood health teams, and investing in digital tools and data. These shifts will help streamline referrals and reduce waiting times, enabling earlier diagnosis and more consistent management of PoTS across the country.

We are investing in additional capacity to deliver appointments to help bring waiting lists and times down. The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the specific productivity and reform efforts needed to return to the constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment, by March 2029. This, in addition to the reforms outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan, will help to accelerate accurate diagnoses and reduce patient delays.