PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Surgery: Waiting Lists (15 October 2019)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS Trusts participating in the field test programme for the elective care standards proposed in the interim review of clinically-led access standards will be required to report compliance against the existing 18 week referral to treatment standard once the pilot period has ended.

Asked by:
Matt Western (Labour)

Participating National Health Service trusts continue to report monthly performance data regardless of testing. During the period of field-testing (from August 2019), performance against the 18-week standard will not be calculated or published for these providers or affected clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to reflect the change in performance framework under which the commissioner requested services providers are operating. Data from these providers will still be used to calculate and publish performance against the 18-week standard at the regional and England level. The reporting arrangements for trusts following completion of the field-testing is dependent on the outcome of the testing and final recommendations made as part of the Clinical Review of Access Standards.

Participating CCGs and providers are still required to follow 2019/20 Planning Guidance for managing improvements to elective care waiting times which are focused on reducing the size of the waiting list as a means to reducing patient waiting times. From April 2019, providers and commissioners will be fined £2,500 for each patient whose wait for treatment is more than 52 weeks. No other sanctions or penalties are in place.

Answered by:
Edward Argar (Conservative)
21 October 2019