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 reduce wait times to see a neurologist.

Cutting waiting lists is a key priority for the Government. We have exceeded our pledge to deliver an extra two million operations, scans, and appointments, having delivered 5.2 million more appointments across elective care services. This marks a vital first step to delivering on the commitment that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment, in line with the National Health Service constitutional standard, by March 2029.

Between September 2024 and 2025, we reduced the number of incomplete neurology pathways by over 15,000, from 234,720 to 219,221, and reduced the average waiting time for neurology services from 16.2 to 15.2 weeks. 57.2% of patients referred were waiting within 18 weeks, up from 54% at the same point last year. This is still lower than the national average and we are continuing efforts to improve this, recognising that this is a challenged specialty.

The January 2025 Elective Reform Plan commits to reforming outpatient services, including by supporting general practitioners and hospital doctors to work better together to ensure referrals are used only when a patient really needs hospital care, through increased uptake of Advice and Guidance. There are a number of initiatives at the national level supporting service improvement and better care for patients with neurological conditions, including the United Kingdom-wide Neuro Forum, RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit, and the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology.