Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of regional variation in outcomes for patients with heart valve disease in England.

NHS England is strengthening consistency in the diagnosis and treatment of heart valve disease, building on the clear progress already being made.

While variation still exists, national initiatives are expanding diagnostic capacity and improving detection, including rapid access community clinics such as the 2026 South London pilot, which has already boosted early diagnosis in underserved groups.

At the treatment stage, rising national transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) activity and strengthened Get It Right First Time pathways and single point of access multidisciplinary team models are collectively helping to reduce inequalities and support more timely, equitable care across all regions.

There has also been a strengthening of audit and data infrastructure, including the UK TAVI Registry and National Adult Cardiac Surgery Audit, helping to ensure that variation is now more visible, enabling targeted action to improve equity in treatment access.

While evidence shows that outcomes for patients with heart valve disease still vary across England, national action is driving improvement to reduce inequalities and support more consistent, equitable outcomes across all regions.