15
Dec
Harrogate NHS trust awarded £2 million for reducing waiting times
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Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust (HDFT) has been awarded £2 million for reducing waiting times for elective care and treatment.
HDFT is one of eight trusts to receive the funding, which is the first round of NHS England’s new Elective Capital Incentive Scheme.
Launched this year, the scheme rewards healthcare providers that have seen the biggest improvement in referral-to-treatment (RTT) performance over a sustained period, including the size of its overall waiting list.
The scheme aims to ensure 92% of patients begin treatment within 18 weeks of referral.
To qualify for the funding, HDFT said it had to meet targets between April and September this year, including improving its 18-week RTT performance, reducing its overall waiting list and cutting one-year waiting times.
HDFT, which oversees hospitals in Harrogate and Ripon, achieved a 5.47% improvement in its 18-week RTT performance, the trust said, adding it reduced its overall waiting list by 1,000 patients (4.7%).
No patients were waiting more than a year for treatment.
Jonathan Coulter, HDFT’s chief executive, said:
We are delighted to receive this recognition from NHS England. This funding is a testament to the efforts of our staff to deliver timely, high quality care.
Since September, our waiting list has reduced by another 900 patients, showing sustained improvement. Several specialties who have achieved the 92% RTT performance target, meaning patients are receiving treatment more quickly from the point of referral.
This funding will enable us to build on our great progress and continue to transform elective services for our communities.
HDFT said it made improvements through a “targeted programme to increase capacity, streamline pathways and improve patient flow across elective services”.
It added:
Key actions included in-depth service reviews using data-driven evidence to support change. Services ran additional clinics, maximised the use of operating theatres, and outpatient and inpatient activity was aligned to meet demand. Specialties and areas with the longest waiting lists were focussed on to deliver improvements in waiting times.
The £2 million reward will be used to enhance HDFT facilities and fund equipment to support patient care and further reduce waiting times.
Russell Nightingale, HDFT’s chief operating officer and deputy chief executive, added:
Reducing waiting times is about more than meeting targets – it is about improving outcomes and experience for patients. This investment will help us to improve how we deliver the services we offer, boost productivity, increase efficiency and ensure patients receive the right care, at the right time.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting praised staff at HDFT for “leading the way to a brighter future for the NHS” and wanted “recognise and reward their excellent work”.
He added:
Our brilliant frontline staff are innovating and finding new ways to run their surgeries and get patients seen faster. This government is backing them with extra investment and modernisation, and waiting lists are falling for the first time in 15 years as a result.
This is what gives me hope that we can turn the NHS around, get people off waiting lists and back to their lives. There’s a long way to go, but the NHS is on the road to recovery.
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