Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of delays in access to elective treatment for heart valve disease.

No specific assessment of delays in access to elective treatment for heart valve disease has been made.

The Government is committed to returning to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients are treated within 18 weeks of referral to consultant-led care, including cardiology services and cardiothoracic surgery, by March 2029. As of January 2026, there were 388,626 incomplete cardiology pathways, and 63.9% of patients on cardiology service waiting lists were seen within 18 weeks, up from 60.2% in January 2025. For cardiothoracic surgery services, 72.1% of patients were seen within 18 weeks as of January 2026, up from 68.5% in January 2025.

The Government has made commitments to improve outcomes of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The 10-Year Health Plan sets out our commitment to achieve a 25% reduction in premature mortality due to CVD and stroke across England. To accelerate progress and tackle variation across the country, a new CVD Modern Service Framework is currently in development and will be published in 2026. In 2025 The Getting It Right First Time programme published new and revised cardiology pathways​ to support evidence-based, efficient, and consistent care across primary and secondary settings, including for aortic stenosis. This supports early recognition of high-risk features, fast-track referral for those with severe symptomatic disease, and coordinated multidisciplinary evaluation. ​