Surgery: Waiting Lists
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer to Question UIN 82954, answered on 15 January 2026, what activities the £18,818,566 paid by NHS England for validation exercises (April to September 2025) funded; whether those payments were made on the basis of a per-patient or per-pathway “RTT clock stop” rate (or any other unit rate); and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Karin Smyth
NHS England has provided funding to increase validation of waiting lists in 2025/26, as part of the Government's plans for a more productive and improved approach to elective care which is better for patients. A £33 fee is provided for each additional referral to treatment clock stop per patient pathway above a provider’s agreed baseline.
Validation is a clinically supported process and forms a long-standing part of trusts’ routine management of their waiting lists. National guidance from NHS England provides further information about the validation process and is available at the following link:
Verbatim has judged this answer against the question that was actually asked — answered, partly answered, or evaded. Sign in to see the verdict →