Remote network of NHS consultants using tech to reduce waiting lists by 39%
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Network of NHS consultants across the UK have used tech to triage over 80,000 patients across different Trusts and specialties, taking over 31,000 patients off waiting lists
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Consultants have also used tech to prioritise more than 9,600 patients requiring urgent care, moving them up the waiting list
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Over 2.5 million people waiting longer than 18 weeks – initiative gives Trusts the blueprint to safely and quickly take people off lists while reducing pressure on hospitals
The NHS is using a nationwide network of consultants to remotely triage waiting lists across the country. This team of NHS consultants has triaged over 80,000 referrals since 2020, reducing waiting lists through detailed patient management plans by 39% on average.
This breakthrough comes at a time when waiting lists are currently at 6.24 million, with over 2.5 million people waiting longer than 18 weeks.
The tech enables specialist NHS consultants from Consultant Connect’s National Consultant Network to triage waiting lists remotely after being briefed on the local pathways available to them.
Where clinically appropriate, the consultant writes up management plans for patients who can be returned to primary care.
So far, referral triage projects have enabled over 31,000 patients to be taken off waiting lists entirely and get the treatment they need much more quickly. These patients were returned to their GP with a treatment plan, redirected to another service or booked in for a test only.
The National Consultant Network has also reprioritised more than 9,600 patients and moved them up the waiting list to get urgent care or fast-tracked to the two-week wait referral system for patients with symptoms that may indicate an underlying cancer.
This is a game-changer for other NHS Trusts who are looking to safely and quickly cut into their backlogs. Patients that are taken off waiting lists are either sent back to their GPs with comprehensive management plans or are directed to more suitable pathways – either way it saves them the stress of uncertain wait times, and takes pressure off struggling hospital departments.
For those that are moved up the waiting lists, these projects could be the difference between life and death. In 2022, an estimated 340,000 people died on NHS waiting lists. If deployed across all hospitals, this network of NHS consultants could prevent thousands more deaths.
This is particularly effective for cardiology:
‘In my experience, 25-30% of cardiology patients on waiting lists don’t need to be there, and can be appropriately managed within primary care with comprehensive treatment plans devised by consultants. Taking them off waiting lists avoids the stress of unnecessary lengthy waits and means they receive treatment faster and reassurance that their condition is being managed appropriately. It’s better for everyone that they’re taken off waiting lists where it’s safe to do so.’
Dr Stephen Cookson, an NHS cardiologist on the National Consultant Network
‘Nobody wants to be stuck on a waiting list, especially those patients who don’t actually need a hospital appointment or those whose condition is getting worse and need urgent care. Using remote consultants is an easy and cost-effective way of making sure that the only patients on a waiting list are those that need to be there, freeing up capacity so that people can be seen sooner and patient outcomes improved. It saves the NHS money too, so everybody is happy!’
Jonathan Patrick, CEO of Consultant Connect
If you have any questions, or would like more information about how our NHS consultant-led referral triage service could support your NHS area, email hello@consultantconnect.org.uk or call us on 01865 261 467.
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