Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the statement by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh RCSEd responds to cancellation of elective surgery, lack of testing and concerns over NHS staff wellbeing, issued on 10 November.

National Health Service providers have worked hard to recover as much elective activity as possible whilst preparing for winter, making full use of available capacity. The Prime Minister has announced £3 billion of extra funding to support the NHS this winter and this includes ensuring the retention of the Nightingale hospital surge capacity and continued access to independent hospitals capacity to help meet patient demand. Essential care should only be postponed if a clinician and patient agree it is in the patient’s best interest.

Supporting the NHS workforce is crucially important and testing of staff remains a top priority. All NHS staff are eligible for priority testing for COVID-19, access is provided through pillar 1 testing and there is capacity within trusts to ensure staff can get tested.

To support the wider wellbeing of NHS staff the NHS People Plan published in July sets out our vision and immediate actions to make the NHS the best place to work, where our NHS people are valued and supported.