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 waiting times for joint replacement surgery in South Bolton and Walkden constituency.

The Government is committed to putting patients first, nationally and in the South Bolton and Walkden Constituency. This means making sure that patients, including those waiting for joint replacement surgery, are seen on time and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care.

The South Bolton area is predominantly served by the Bolton NHS Foundation Trust (FT), whilst the wider region including Walkden is served by the Manchester University NHS FT.

At the Bolton NHS FT, over half, or 55.6%, of waits on the trauma and orthopaedics (T&O) waiting list, which includes joint replacement surgery, were waiting within 18 weeks, an improvement of 8.8% since the start of July 2024. The number of long waits of more than 52 weeks has also reduced by 67% over the same period, down to 83.

At the Manchester University NHS FT, 45% of T&O waits were within 18 weeks, an improvement of 3.7%. The number of long waits of over 52 weeks has also reduced by 6% over the same period, down to 893.

We set out in the 2025 Elective Reform Plan, the productivity and modernisation efforts needed to reach the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment by March 2029. The plan outlines actions that will help to ensure care is delivered in the right place. This includes £1.65 billion of capital funding in 2025/26 to increase capacity for elective and emergency care, partly through new surgical hubs. Hubs deliver quicker access to common surgical procedures, including T&O services. In October 2025, capacity in one of two surgical hubs that are part of the Manchester University FT was expanded, namely the Trafford Hospital Elective Surgical Hub. This means more patients can receive treatment faster and begin recovery sooner.

The Government remains committed to continuing to expand the number of hubs over the next three years to increase surgical capacity and deliver faster access to common procedures including T&O procedures.