Are we tackling NHS waiting lists from the wrong perspective?

What is the impact for patients who have been referred into the NHS for assessment, whilst they wait to be seen, whether they end up needing surgery, or not?

Earlier in July, Wes Streeting, the new Health Secretary, claimed he was ‘genuinely stunned’ by the NHS failings as he took on his new role.? As a result, he has ordered an independent investigation into NHS performance in England as the latest waiting list figures show a backlog for hospital care has risen to 7.6 million.

Just two weeks later, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the New Hospital Programme was to be paused, with a ‘complete reset’ to ascertain a timetable for delivery.

I can see the value in evaluation, and that without change, the challenges faced within the NHS will continue to spiral and offer inadequate services to our UK population.? However, what worries me is the vast number of individuals who have been referred for treatment, who are waiting for months and even years for contact by the service providers.

What I found eye opening is that 70-80% of those on waiting lists who are purely waiting for an assessment of their condition and a decision about whether they need ongoing treatment or discharge, not even a procedure.? They are waiting to be assessed and will not necessarily require surgery.? The waiting lists vary enormously in different organisations, so as with many situations in the NHS, it is a postcode lottery as to whether an individual will be seen swiftly or have an unbearably long wait.?

Let’s take this down to a personal level.? The unfortunate individuals who are on long-term waiting lists know they have been referred for assessment by a specialist team.? They may be anxious about what may be ahead of them, fearful of a potential procedure or drug intervention.? They are in limbo and due to the strain on GP services, may be largely unsupervised in the management of their condition whilst they wait.? They could deteriorate, the patient may begin to self-administer medication to keep themselves going until they get an appointment. ??They may become depressed through the challenges they face in coping with painful or worrying symptoms, and end up requiring antidepressants.? The clinical risk their conditions may pose are often monitored, unless, heaven forbid, they end up in Accident and Emergency Departments when their condition tips into a critical state.?

Many of us may know someone living in this state of limbo with a health condition, waiting to be seen and assessed, let alone the 20% of patients who are the spending a further period of time waiting for a surgical intervention.? It is a heartbreaking situation – watching a loved one experience the fear, concern, and potential deterioration in their condition whilst they wait to be seen.

The anticipation of new operating theatres that would have reduced those surgical waiting lists is now being delayed by the new Government ‘pausing’ the New Hospitals Programme.? And the GP surgeries who are working to supervise those on waiting lists are now having to campaign for more funding to maintain their over stretched services.

If those in power could look at the population statistics in greater detail and clarify the determinate of demand on services, they could focus their spending on the hospitals and specialist areas that are in the most challenging states and reduce the waiting lists.? Imagine the 80% of patients who are simply waiting for an assessment being seen, evaluated and managed – clearing them off the waiting lists in shorter time frames.? They would have diagnoses, treatment plans and could be referred back to GPs for ongoing care and supervision, reducing the stress and anxiety of long waiting lists.? And the NHS would have less pressure with the backlog, be able to provide exemplary care to those who need it, and have less patients deteriorating and requiring even more care than initially thought!

Vuit.online have the data to support this action right now.? They can provide data on specific populations that would enable NHS Trusts to focus their attention on areas of high risk, high numbers, and support services to combat areas of high need.? By pooling resources, services could create interventions to assess, manage and discharge patients quickly, reducing pressure on services whilst alleviating the distress and minimizing risk to patients.

This diagram is an example of the data that Vuit.online can provide. It shows the scale of the problem in graphical form. For one specialty – trauma and orthopaedics – we can see that, on average over 65% of the waiting list is waiting over 15 weeks just to get a decision. However, this is the average with every trust and literally tens of thousands of patients much worse than that. At what could be considered the worst outlier 85% of their 8962 patients on the waiting list are waiting 41.5 weeks just to get a decision!

This diagram is an example of the data that Vuit.online can provide.

I know that if one of my loved ones was anticipating a fourteen month wait for assessment, and their NHS Trust created an efficient system that saw them seen, treated, and discharged in four months, I would be delighted.? So perhaps it is not about doing things differently, just to be seen for taking swift action as a new labour Government, maybe it is about thinking smarter, trying something new, and meeting the needs of the electorate in a way that provides a positive lived experience for those who are highly anxious, living in physical, emotional, or psychological distress awaiting health assessments in a more efficient and compassionate way.

For more information about this article or how VUIT can help you with your health and social care challenges please email?[email protected]?or call on 07971569355.

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