17.11.15
Up-to-date capacity stats could help CCGs and GPs spread the patient load
CCGs and GPs could gain access to up-to-date capacity information to direct patients to ‘emptier’ providers at the point of referral, NHS England has revealed.
In a performance report set to be presented to its board on 20 November, NHS England said giving providers this information could cut down on waiting times, most of which have deteriorated compared to the previous year.
NHS England will also work with CCGs to develop more sustainable approaches to proactively managing demand and increase patient choice.
The organisation has also put in place a dedicated project team tasked with identifying and matching spare capacity – including in the private sector – to help NHS deliver contracted volumes of activity for 2015-16, as well as ensure all available capacity is fully utilised.
To do this, it is working closely with the budding NHS Improvement organisation to ensure these arrangements can be made in the current funding climate.
The new partner, a merger between Monitor and NHS TDA, is also helping NHS England target extra and focused support across service patches that most need it – including by analysing whether trusts and delivering sufficient commissioning activity with the correct case mix.
The push for shorter waiting times and smarter patient take-up builds on the latest figures indicating the state service is failing in several areas.
Concerning cancer patients, for example, providers missed the 62-day treatment standard in August.
A significant factor in delivering this target successfully is the availability of diagnostic tests, particularly endoscopy tests, which is often patchy within the NHS.
But NHS England has assured that it has established a programme management office to facilitate the transfer of at least 9,000 patients to providers with available endoscopy capacity by the end of March 2016.
There were also 7,500 more delayed transfers of care in August of this year than in 2014. The proportion of delays attributable to social care has increased by four percentage points compared to August 2014, partly a result of bed shortages in the non-acute sector, some of which are blocked by patients waiting to gain access to social care packages.