50 new surgical hubs set to open across England - Healthwatch England's response

The Government has today announced plans to open 50 new surgical hubs across England. The hubs aim to deliver almost two million extra routine operations to cut waiting lists over the next three years.

This is good news for people waiting for surgery. But it's important that the Government and NHS focus on tackling health inequalities, so that people struggling financially can afford to get to these appointments.

Commenting on the news, Louise Ansari, our National Director said:

"These new hubs will hopefully lead to fewer appointments being cancelled at the last minute. Earlier this year, we spoke to 1,000 people waiting for planned care, and a really serious issue for over half of respondents was the experience of delays and cancellations.

"However, any solutions which aim to reduce the waiting list must focus on health inequalities.

"In 2021, the least financially secure people waiting for care also told us they could only travel to somewhere other than their local hospital if they were helped with transport and accommodation costs.

We have already seen travel and accommodation costs covered for patients on waiting lists for more than two years and this approach should be extended to cover all patients who are offered faster treatment in different parts of the country. Without this, quicker treatment at new surgical hubs will be limited to those who can afford to travel.”