A Teesside hospital trust hopes to cut patient waiting lists after being chosen to take part in a ‘further faster’ initiative being implemented across the NHS.
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of 20 trusts chosen by NHS England to receive targeted support with the aim of improving and streamlining medical pathways for patients and spreading good practice.
The initiative was previously announced by Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who told the recent Labour Party conference that “crack teams of top clinicians” would be sent to hospitals to roll out reforms developed by surgeons to treat more patients and cut waiting lists.
Labour said the plan was based on a model of working at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust in London, which ran like a “formula one pit stop” to cut times between procedures.
The South Tees trust, which includes the James Cook University Hospital, was chosen due to Middlesbrough and surrounding areas having some of the highest levels of deprivation in the country, along with a significant percentage of the population being unable to work due to being long-term sick.
People in this category are deemed to be economically inactive.
These factors were cross-referenced against the size of trust waiting lists to decide where the initial focus would be.
Mr Streeting said the aim was “delivering our health mission, but also moving the dial on our growth mission too”.
A report by University Hospital Tees group chief executive Stacey Hunter, which referenced the initiative, said: “This is a great opportunity for the trust to receive resources and focus to support us to reduce the waiting list and support our population.”
A performance update for the trust presented to group board members earlier this month described the number of patients at South Tees waiting more than a year after being referred for treatment as increasing.
It said the focus was on prioritising people who had been waiting the longest, as well as those who were deemed clinically urgent.
The report also said compliance with waiting time standards in respect of cancer treatment specifically was “recognised as a strategic risk”.
However the position was predicted to improve through delivery of action plans to improve access and processes within specific tumour groups, enabling earlier diagnosis.
