This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Better scheduling could allow 280,000 more operations
A new NHS Improvement report has claimed that 280,000 more non-emergency operations could be carried out by hospitals each year if schedules were better organised.
The study of 100 NHS trusts in England found that over two hours a day were wasted on the average procedure list, with the watchdog saying that more effective planning, as well as reducing late starts and early finishes, could improve the service.
According to NHS Improvement, working hard to eliminate last minute cancellations by better pre-op planning enabled one hospital to significantly improve its performance, with the health regulator keen to get other hospitals to make better use of their assets.
Speaking to the BBC, Richard Kerr, of the Royal College of Surgeons, said: “I think the NHS can always be more efficient and I think people have worked very hard to try to make it more efficient, but I don't think those savings are going to resolve the ever-increasing demand that is being put on the health service."
A total of 1.64 million routine surgical procedures were carried out in 2016, including eye, ear, nose and throat operations and orthopaedic procedures.
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