Jon Dore, COO of CHEC kindly shares his insight with Hospital Hub…
At the beginning of 2023, the news that fewer than half of NHS trusts will meet key backlog targets has not gone unnoticed.[1] This is a clear sign that the NHS needs more support and the way our healthcare system functions must be reconsidered.
Waiting lists for NHS treatment in England have reached record highs of over 7 million people in recent months and the target of eliminating waits of over 18 months by April 2023 is looking less and less likely.[2]
A core way to reduce NHS backlogs, which is successfully used in other nations across Europe, is to fully utilise community-based independent healthcare provider services that can serve people locally and alleviate capacity challenges in main NHS hospitals.
Addressing regional backlogs:
Last year, an analysis of NHS data revealed that waiting lists for routine treatments, such as cataract surgery, had grown by 50% in the most deprived parts of England, compared with 35% in the most affluent areas.[3] This can only have been exacerbated by the pandemic, which greatly exposed health inequalities across the UK.
One of the benefits of local community-based healthcare is the ability to target specific locations to address regional backlogs.
For example, during the pandemic, hospitals in the north had to postpone 40% of operations, adding to the already long waiting lists in the region.[4] Community-based healthcare can help to address this. The opening of our local clinic in Newcastle hopes to ease these pressures and act as a supporter of the NHS.
Furthermore, in 2022 CHEC also expanded its service offering into endoscopy to help alleviate national NHS pressures further, but through a targeted local approach.
Accessibility as a number one priority:
Without prioritising accessibility and ensuring everyone, no matter where they live, has access to healthcare services within their local community, there will be no improvements to the nation’s healthcare system and NHS backlogs will only continue to grow.
A simple way to help address this is to ensure that patients can easily attend their healthcare appointments, helping to dramatically reduce no-shows. Indeed, one GP in Norfolk has recently spoken out as one in 20 patients have not shown up for their appointment.[5] On a national scale, from June 2021 to June 2022, 14.3 million NHS appointments were missed in England.[6]
At CHEC, our ‘Home to Hospital’ service is used by patients who would otherwise struggle to attend their appointments, removing the hassle and anxiety of travel. The service has allowed all patients to access local healthcare services and helps to reduce the build-up of NHS backlogs caused by missed appointments and no-shows.
Better outcomes for every patient:
Community-based healthcare is essential in developing better outcomes for both patients and providers. Increased capacity for health appointments in the local community is an important way to support the NHS, and ensuring patients are seen as soon as possible can only deliver better healthcare outcomes for the population.
A stronger recognition of the power of community-based healthcare is needed if there is to be a successful move towards a healthier population and a reduction in health inequalities. It is integrated care systems, which have proven themselves across Europe, that allow community health centres to become the first port of call for all things health. Giving community services a larger role as a care provider is a core way to ensure that the NHS is protected, especially given the aftermath of the pandemic which is yet to be overcome.
References:
[3] NHS backlog disproportionately affecting England’s most deprived | NHS | The Guardian
[4] https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/covid-hit-hospitals-in-north-postpone-40-of-operations-f6m7l8gkq
[5] https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/23164963.plea-norfolk-gp-one-20-patients-no-show-slots/
