Patient and user groups welcome NHS England decision to delay review into waiting times for elective care
- Hospital waiting lists
We welcome NHS England’s decision today to give more time to its review of waiting times for elective care. It has been encouraging to see how NHS England’s review aimed to focus on improving people’s experiences, but in our mind there were always questions over the timelines for looking at such a complex issue.
The 18 week target covers a wide range of conditions with clinical outcomes and experiences affected differently by the length of time people wait. Issues such as good shared decision making, better information and ongoing support during waits also affect the experiences of people needing treatment. This is why we need more time to assess the impact of any changes to the target on people waiting for treatment.
NHS England’s update today is therefore a very welcome move and shows that they are taking the feedback from patients and their organisations seriously. We look forward to continuing our work with NHS England to ensure the review comes to the right decision by 2021.
*Groups involved include National Voices, The Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA), Versus Arthritis, the MS Society, the Neurological Alliance and Healthwatch England.