Latest news with #waitingTimes
The Independent
02-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Patients risk being in ‘unnecessary pain' over NHS minimum waits for treatment
Patients risk being left in 'unnecessary pain' as NHS chiefs force hospitals to introduce minimum waiting times for treatment, health experts have warned. Some local NHS organisations have introduced minimum waiting times as part of their drive to control costs and set priorities, telling hospitals they will will only pay if patients have waited three months or more for things such as hip replacements. As first reported in The Times, the policies include blanket minimum waiting times of 12-16 weeks in some regions. In Devon, a 14-week wait has been applied to 'clinically routine cases' while in Shropshire, a minimum wait of 16-18 weeks applies 'unless there is verifiable clinical urgency', the Times reported. In South Yorkshire, as a result of 'significant financial challenge' the region is 'requiring providers to slow down the rate of delivery to a minimum of 13 weeks', documents suggest. In north-east London, bosses say an interim goal of treating 65% of patients within 18 weeks will be a maximum, citing a reduction in the money available for routine treatment. Other regions vary more by type of treatment, with some putting blocks in place for cataracts or inpatient ear, nose and throat cases. Earlier this year, NHS England published guidance with detail on minimum waits, saying hospital trusts and local commissioners must agree plans on the expected 'volume of activity' across the year. It said commissioners may wish to set 'activity planning assumptions', which can include introducing minimum waiting times. In April, NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey told a Health Service Journal (HSJ) summit that the new rules would give commissioners 'the ability to say to providers…'You might be able to do a cataract in four days, but I want you to do it in 10 weeks, because that's what we've decided is necessary'.' He suggested this may help support other priorities, for example big cancer or mental health waiting times. However, experts said the move risked leaving people in pain or facing unnecessary delays. Tim Mitchell, president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said: 'Used in this way, minimum waiting times risk distorting clinical priorities and leaving patients in unnecessary pain and anxiety. 'Treatment should be delivered as promptly as possible, based on clinical need. 'We recognise the financial pressures facing the NHS but delaying treatment to balance the books is not the answer. 'Instead, we need targeted investment to expand surgical capacity and upgrade the ageing NHS buildings and infrastructure that continue to hold back efforts to meet the 18-week waiting time target.' An NHS spokesman said: 'We have asked all parts of the NHS to bring waiting times down while we continue to prioritise the most clinically urgent patients. 'There is no policy supporting minimum waits in the NHS and we will work closely with all systems to ensure they deliver the expected level of improvement in waiting times set out in our 25/26 planning guidance.' NHS Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) have been contacted for comment. Nuffield Trust senior policy analyst Sally Gainsbury said: 'This highlights the stark reality of a health service facing higher patient demand than it can meet within its budget and available capacity. 'The NHS has a responsibility to use its resources fairly and although patients will find minimum waiting times distressing, they can represent an attempt by the NHS to ensure patients with particular conditions, such as cataracts, do not in effect receive care at the expense of others. 'There are millions of people waiting for planned treatment, and the Government has made waiting times a key target for the next election. 'But this is not the only form of care the NHS provides. NHS organisations do need to strike a balance with those patients needing emergency care, primary care or mental health care, too. Balancing those competing demands is really difficult to do. 'With so much pressure on resources, there is a need for a shared understanding between the public and the NHS about how different treatments should be prioritised in a way people can agree is fair. 'Unfortunately, politicians are often reluctant to accept this need for honesty, and there is a real risk that the emphasis on the patient as a consumer of healthcare expected in the 10-year plan will exacerbate pressures.' A spokeswoman for NHS South Yorkshire said there had been clinical input into the decision, adding: 'We are committed to making care better, faster and more efficient, as well as prioritising more urgent treatment such as for cancer. 'To make waiting times equitable across our region we have asked providers to work to a minimum wait of 13 weeks for routine care. This is within the 18-week constitutional standard.'
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Patients risk being in ‘unnecessary pain' over NHS minimum waits for treatment
Patients risk being left in 'unnecessary pain' as NHS chiefs force hospitals to introduce minimum waiting times for treatment, health experts have warned. Some local NHS organisations have introduced minimum waiting times as part of their drive to control costs and set priorities, telling hospitals they will will only pay if patients have waited three months or more for things such as hip replacements. As first reported in The Times, the policies include blanket minimum waiting times of 12-16 weeks in some regions. In Devon, a 14-week wait has been applied to 'clinically routine cases' while in Shropshire, a minimum wait of 16-18 weeks applies 'unless there is verifiable clinical urgency', the Times reported. In South Yorkshire, as a result of 'significant financial challenge' the region is 'requiring providers to slow down the rate of delivery to a minimum of 13 weeks', documents suggest. In north-east London, bosses say an interim goal of treating 65% of patients within 18 weeks will be a maximum, citing a reduction in the money available for routine treatment. Other regions vary more by type of treatment, with some putting blocks in place for cataracts or inpatient ear, nose and throat cases. Earlier this year, NHS England published guidance with detail on minimum waits, saying hospital trusts and local commissioners must agree plans on the expected 'volume of activity' across the year. It said commissioners may wish to set 'activity planning assumptions', which can include introducing minimum waiting times. In April, NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey told a Health Service Journal (HSJ) summit that the new rules would give commissioners 'the ability to say to providers…'You might be able to do a cataract in four days, but I want you to do it in 10 weeks, because that's what we've decided is necessary'.' He suggested this may help support other priorities, for example big cancer or mental health waiting times. However, experts said the move risked leaving people in pain or facing unnecessary delays. Tim Mitchell, president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said: 'Used in this way, minimum waiting times risk distorting clinical priorities and leaving patients in unnecessary pain and anxiety. 'Treatment should be delivered as promptly as possible, based on clinical need. 'We recognise the financial pressures facing the NHS but delaying treatment to balance the books is not the answer. 'Instead, we need targeted investment to expand surgical capacity and upgrade the ageing NHS buildings and infrastructure that continue to hold back efforts to meet the 18-week waiting time target.' An NHS spokesman said: 'We have asked all parts of the NHS to bring waiting times down while we continue to prioritise the most clinically urgent patients. 'There is no policy supporting minimum waits in the NHS and we will work closely with all systems to ensure they deliver the expected level of improvement in waiting times set out in our 25/26 planning guidance.' NHS Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) have been contacted for comment.
BBC News
26-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
How is your NHS hospital doing on waiting times?
Doctors and patient groups warn that the NHS in England is facing an uphill struggle on the government's number one NHS priority – improving hospital waiting are concerned about the lack of progress towards hitting the 18-week waiting time target, one of Labour's key election pledges. It has not been met since the election, the proportion of patients waiting less than 18 weeks has improved, but by less than a percentage an analysis of hospital trusts by BBC Verify found over a third are seeing a smaller share of patients within 18 weeks since the NHS improvement plan was announced in the government said it was premature to suggest progress was too slow as the NHS had only started to push forward with the government's improvement plan in April. Before that, it had focussed on other priorities, including tackling the very longest waits. It said the fact waiting times had continued to improve even during winter - the first time this had happened for 10 years - was in an interview with the BBC, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said progress would go "further and faster" in the coming years, helped by the extra money being invested and the 10-year NHS plan, due to be published next said lots had been achieved so far, including millions more appointments being carried out and the total number of patients on the waiting list dropping to below 7.4 million, its lowest level for two the 18-week target, he acknowledged there was "much more to do", before adding: "There's a big challenge here. Are we going to meet it? Absolutely. We are not going to let people down."The government has promised to hit the target by March 2029, which requires 92% of patients to be seen within 18 January, every hospital trust was given their own individual performance targets to meet by March 2026 as the first step in achieving that Verify is launching an interactive tool, which we will update when there is new data, so you can find out how well your local NHS services are doing. We have included NHS trusts in England that had at least 5,000 cases waiting in November. 'I've forgotten what it is like to not be in pain' John Winnik does not know when he will get treatment for a problem with his grandfather from West Yorkshire, who has arthritis, has been on an NHS waiting list for nine months so far - much longer than the 18 weeks the health service says should be the 73-year-old paid privately to go to Lithuania for a right hip replacement last year, having spent more than a year on the NHS waiting also having injections in his left hip, which will eventually need replacing."I'm living in constant pain," said Mr Winnik, a self-employed consultant in the glass lamination industry. "I've forgotten what it is like to not be in pain, to be honest. I haven't played golf for two years and if I do five minutes of gardening, I'm shattered." Royal College of Surgeons of England president Tim Mitchell said: "The NHS is changing course, but the sails still lack wind."Progress is being made in some parts of the country, but it's too slow to meet the government's ambition of hitting the 18-week target by the end of this parliament."Delayed operations mean patients left waiting in pain, with their condition potentially deteriorating."He said the extra money being put into the NHS in the coming years would help, but "serious underinvestment" in infrastructure like operating theatres over the years is hampering Alsina, chief executive of the patient group Versus Arthritis, also has doubts, saying there was scepticism about whether the rapid progress needed could be she added: "It is impossible to overstate the personal, physical and mental toll of being stuck on a waiting list in daily pain, sometimes for years."There's also a wider impact on society, with many people on waiting lists having to drop out of work, despite wanting to stay in employment, and becoming increasingly reliant on others."The interim targets for March 2026 mean trusts either have to be seeing 60% of patients within 18 weeks of referral or improve on their November 2024 position by five percentage points - whichever is the NHS overall in England is expected to ensure 65% of patients do not wait longer than 18 weeks - currently less than 60% majority of trusts have already started making progress, however a BBC Verify analysis shows 50 - more than one third - are now further away from the target since November the trusts that have improved are taken into account the overall trend though is positive. A handful of trusts have already got to where they need to be by next March - as long as they can keep their waiting lists and West Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust had more than 48,000 patients waiting less than 18 weeks so far for treatment, 64.2% of the total, in April. That is up from 58.7% in Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust also reached 60.1% in April, up from 54.9% in biggest target for improvement was set for The Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust in Harlow, according to our analysis. In November, 41.8% of its patients were waiting less than 18 weeks. By April, that had risen to about 48.8% - one of the biggest improvements in England so far. But it needs to rise further by more than 11 percentage points by next chief executive Thom Lafferty said they were "delighted" with their progress."We recognise the impact for patients who are waiting for care and we are enhancing integration and collaboration with our partners to ensure that patients can access the right care, in the right place, at the right time."Some trusts have a higher mountain to climb because their figures have dipped since and South Essex NHS Trust started out with 52.8% of patients waiting less than 18 weeks in November. But when the clock started in April, it had fallen to 47%.Two of its theatres at Basildon Hospital have been closed for work along with some of the trust's procedure rooms and it has had an increase in executive Matthew Hopkins said it was putting on extra clinics and had a new orthopaedic procedure room opening soon, adding: "We are confident we will improve our waiting times and improve patient experience."Others that have fallen despite requiring large improvements include the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH) in Shropshire (down from 48.3% to 44.9%) and Countess of Chester, down from 49.6% to 47.1%.Cathy Chadwick, chief operating officer for Countess of Chester, said more clinics and investment in new technology would bring down waiting lists and the trust was confident of meeting the target by next March.A spokesman for RJAH said: "We have a clear ambition to hit the target of 60% by March 2026, and are confident that the plans we have put in place will enable us to do so." Targets in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are different and the interim targets for next March set by the UK government do not the NHS is not meeting the waiting time targets in any Scotland aims for 90% of patients to be treated within 18 weeks of referral, in Wales the target is for 95% of patients to wait less than 26 Northern Ireland, 55% of patients should wait no longer than 13 weeks for day case or inpatient treatment. Interactive tool produced by Alli Shultes, Rebecca French, Ollie Lux Rigby, Chris Kay, Adam Allen, Avi Holden and Rebecca Wedge-Roberts What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?
BBC News
25-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
NI Health: Patients spending over a week in emergency departments
Conditions in emergency departments (EDs) are "soul destroying", a senior consultant has said after it was revealed that one patient waited more than 330 hours inside a figures, obtained by BBC News NI, show that in a seven-month period to January this year, one patient waited two weeks at the Ulster Hospital, while another waited 11 days at the Mater in Clodagh Corrigan, deputy chair of the British Medical Association in Northern Ireland, said conditions in EDs for staff and patients were "horrific".In a statement, the Department of Health (DoH) acknowledged that waiting times in EDs "fall well below the standard of care that we strive to provide". Hundreds stuck in hospitals across NI The DoH target is for 95% of patients to be treated, discharged or admitted within four hours and no patient to wait longer than 12 Corrigan, who is an emergency medicine consultant, has called on the department to spend its money more effectively.A Freedom of Information request from BBC News NI revealed that every health trust in Northern Ireland experienced patient waits of about week or Northern Health Trust said a wait of more than 10 days for a patient in Antrim Area Hospital was because they needed to be isolated in a side room for other people's safety."If there's space, it's taken up by somebody," said Dr added that patients who might be vomiting or suffering from diarrhoea were queuing for the one toilet available in a unit."It's a soul-destroying work environment. You can't give the care you want to give," she said."You certainly aren't giving the care you're trained to give. It's not the care you'd want your family to receive."There are currently hundreds of people stuck in hospitals across Northern Ireland who are medically fit to be discharged but do not have a care package or an appropriate facility to go BMA said this increases pressure in EDs because people are not moving through the hospital system. The BBC requested data from all five health trusts under Freedom of Information, including that relating to the height of the winter pressures over Christmas and New reflect the immense pressure healthcare staff were under at the time, with one nursing leader describing conditions as "intolerable".Between 12 December 2024 and 20 January this year, 140 patients had to wait in crowded EDs for more than 100 Altnagelvin Area Hospital, one person spent a week in its ED. The hospital recorded the highest number of patients waiting the longest times, with 48 people waiting for more than 100 hours. Dr Corrigan said the BMA was calling for greater investment in the health service and multi-year budgets."The money that exists needs to be used better. There's been an awful lot of investment in a lot of new initiatives... and while we welcome some of those initiatives, we're not seeing the pressures easing from them," she said."It might be better investing in the services that are already here and shaping them better."In a statement, the Department of Health said Health Minister Mike Nesbitt was "acutely aware of the pressures within emergency departments"."The department also recognises the risk of possible harm to patients who experience long waiting times in ED and is working with trusts to improve patient flow through urgent and emergency care," it were still major waits for patients in EDs this week, with patients at Craigavon Area Hospital waiting an average of 15 hours to be seen on Monday.
BBC News
24-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Scotland's cancer treatment waiting times worst on record
The percentage of Scottish cancer patients receiving treatment within the target time is the lowest since records began, new figures released by Public Health Scotland reveals almost a third of patients referred to the NHS in Scotland with an urgent suspicion of cancer are waiting longer than the 62-day target to start rate fell to 68.9% in the first three months of 2025 - the lowest reported since records began a decade ago.A target that 95% of patients should start treatment within 31 days of diagnosis has also not been met. Figures show 94.1% of patients started treatment within that Lanarkshire was the only health board to meet the target that 95% of patients should start treatment within 62 days of an urgent Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said one patient waiting more than two months is too said: "These appalling statistics confirm Scotland is facing a ticking timebomb when it comes to cancer cases on the SNP's watch."SNP ministers have not met their own waiting time target in over a decade and need to cut out their pitiful excuses and act now."The figures come after the chair of the British Medical Association (BMA) in Scotland, Dr Iain Kennedy, said it was "abundantly clear" that Scotland was now said there was a split between people who could afford to go private and those forced to "languish" on NHS waiting 2024, 72.1% of patients started treatment within the target time between July and September, a decrease from 73.2% in the previous quarter of April to PHS report looks at two key cancer waiting 62-day standard is based on the time from urgent suspicion of cancer referral to first cancer the 31-day standard measures the time from a decision to treat to the start of first treatment for newly-diagnosed primary cancers.
