Joint Replacements: Waiting Lists

(asked on 16th December 2021) - View Source

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 (a) reduce joint replacement waiting times within the NHS and (b) improve support for people waiting for joint replacement surgery.


Answered by
Edward Argar Portrait
Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This question was answered on 5th January 2022

Joint replacement is being prioritised through the High Volume, Low Complexity programme. This programme shares best practice to improve and facilitate joint replacement surgeries in the National Health Service, including through new surgical hubs which offer additional capacity for surgery.

As announced in September, an additional £1 billion has been provided this year as part of the Elective Recovery Fund, which can be accessed by local trusts if they meet the eligibility criteria to tackle the backlog. A further £8 billion was announced to transform elective services and increase activity in the following three years. This funding could deliver the equivalent of approximately nine million more checks, scans and procedures and includes treatment for joint replacements.

Work is underway to evaluate patient support and to develop regional and system strategies focused on those who are waiting for elective surgery, including patients waiting for joint replacement surgery.

Reticulating Splines