I met this afternoon with representatives from the Medical Technology Group, a coalition of industry and patient groups that campaigns for better access to medical technologies.
I heard from companies that supply the NHS with everything from surgical swabs and dressings all the way through to high-end technologies, as well as patient groups that represent a range of different clinical issues.
We spoke about the Ration Watch campaign which looks at individual commissioning polices, NHS activity and waiting times to highlight the challenges some patients face. We also discussed some of the individual rationing decisions and the current inequality of treatment outcomes in different areas of the NHS, particularly around hip and knee replacements, cataracts, hernia repair, glucose monitors, and so on. There can be a wide variation between the different Clinical Commissioning Groups across the country.
The main point however was ensuring that everyone who needs treatment can get access to it, particularly as the NHS continues to work through the backlog of appointments from earlier in the year when restrictions were in place and many operations were deferred. I have already raised this with Ministers, and will continue to do so.