Issue - meetings

Matthew Hopkins, Chief Executive, Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, introduced the report and led the presentation, supported by Clare Burns, BHRUHT Programme Director for Demand Management.  Matthew explained that the NHS Constitution gave patients the right to access services within 18 weeks following a GP Referral.  It became apparent in 2014 that in BHRUT this was not being achieved and due to the lack of confidence in the reliability of the data BHRUT had suspended formal reporting of its Referral to Treatment (RTT) performance in February 2014. 

The Patient Administration System (PAS) computer system had been updated in December 2013.  There appeared to have been both a misunderstanding and mismanagement of the data within the Trust over a number of years, for which the Trust was now apologising.

NHS England had subsequently tasked BHRUT and Barking Havering and Redbridge CCGs to develop a recovery plan and to report regularly to the NHSE / TDA to provide the necessary assurance that changes were happening.  Despite the data not being assured in March 2016, BHRUT Board Papers stated that it had 1,015 patients waiting more than 52 weeks on the elective RTT pathway, which had led to significant national publicity.  Independent auditors had now been appointed to verify the data and patient numbers but the exact numbers were still being verified.  The only positive resulting from this problem was that the data deficiencies had allowed an opportunity to investigate where there were gaps between patient demand and capacity of services.

Since March the number of people waiting 52 weeks had reduced to around 800.  NHS London had also written to BHR CCGs outlining their concern.

Matthew explained that 95% of patients should have had their procedures / diagnoses within 18 weeks of GP referral.  For an organisation the size of BHRUT it would be expected that there would be around 30,000 people on the process / waiting list at any one time.  The Trust had 58,000 people on the waiting list.  In the past year the Trust had delivered an additional 1,200 operations and 30,000 extra outpatient appointments but there were still a large number of people waiting over 18 weeks.  Matthew added that the Junior Doctors strike action had resulted in 4,000 appointments being cancelled on 26 April alone.

The aim now was to achieve compliance with the NHS Constitution standards by March 2017.  To achieve that BHRUT were now looking towards other providers across the region, however, some people have indicated that they would prefer to wait longer to stay local.  BHRUT had a programme of improvement for the data accuracy and to deal with the backlog of patients waiting for appointments or treatment.

Clare Burns explained that work now needed to be undertaken to provide services locally to resolve demand at the hospitals.  As patients do not seem to want to travel for treatment, this would include alternative routes to treatment, such as a community dermatologist service in LBBD.  Clare added that LBBD referrals were often  ...  view the full minutes text for item 91