Accident and Emergency Departments
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase capacity in A&E departments.
Answered by Karin Smyth
As part of delivering the Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/2026, the Government and NHS England have provided over £450 million of capital investment to expand urgent and emergency care capacity, including:
new and expanded Same Day Emergency Care and Urgent Treatment Centres;
additional mental health crisis capacity;
connected care records for ambulance services; and
nearly 1,000 replacement ambulances.
These measures to increase capacity in urgent and emergency care are supported by new national clinical standards, including the Model Emergency Department and The Model Acute Pathway, supporting more consistent, high‑quality care and improved flow through hospitals.
In the longer term, the 10-Year Health Plan sets out how we will fundamentally transform the National Health Service. A key focus of our approach will be to expand access to urgent care services at home and in the community as part of our new Neighbourhood Health model. This will improve the experience and care that people receive, rather than having to go to hospital unnecessarily.
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