NHS backlogs and waiting times in England

NHS backlogs and waiting times in England
NAO 1 December 2021

• This report looks in detail at backlogs and waiting times for elective and cancer care in the NHS in England. It explains how the current increased backlogs and waiting times have arisen, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The report sets out:
• how waiting times performance for elective and cancer care are tracked in the NHS, and how long patients have been waiting relative to the performance standards;
• the causes of increasing longer waits before the pandemic and the disruption caused by the pandemic; and
• the steps the Department and NHSE&I have already taken to address the increasing backlogs and waiting times, and the constraints and challenges the NHS faces in making a full recovery.
• The NAO intends to follow this report with a second one, which will describe the NHS’s plans to improve this situation and evaluate its early progress.

Timely access to care: Principles for recovery

Timely access to care: Principles for recovery
National Voices November 2021

• Timely access to care is now the most pressing concern of people who live with ill health, disability or impairment, and what they talk to National Voices members about. National Voices have created recommendations for government and system leaders, for people planning and delivering services and for the VCSE, including National Voices.

The government’s preparedness for the COVID-19 pandemic: lessons for government on risk management

The government’s preparedness for the COVID-19 pandemic: lessons for government on risk management
NAO 19 November 2021

• This report sets out the facts on:
• the government’s approach to risk management and emergency planning (Part One);
• the actions the government took to identify the risk of a pandemic like COVID-19 (Part Two);
• the actions the government took to prepare for a pandemic like COVID-19 (Part Three); and
• recent developments (Part Four).

Multi-professional team-working The experience and lessons from COVID-19

Multi-professional team-working The experience and lessons from COVID-19
Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, October 2021

• This report focuses on what lessons has been learned about the enablers for and barriers to effective multi-professional team-working. Drawing on interviews with workers across different specialties, healthcare settings and regions, it explores five key themes that have shaped experiences of multi-professional team-working during the pandemic and outlines ten principles for improvement.

Integration in action: tackling the elective backlog

Integration in action: tackling the elective backlog
NHS Confederation 7 October 2021

• This report provides some early examples of how local systems are addressing this challenge. Based on interviews with healthcare leaders, it details how integrated approaches are enabling rapid improvement and innovation in service delivery. This includes using population health data to pinpoint people who may suffer more from waiting; using clinical harm tools to pinpoint those on the list who are deteriorating; and proactively seeking out people who may need treatment.

COVID-19 impact inquiry evidence library

COVID-19 impact inquiry evidence library
Health Foundation

• Evidence gathered from a wide range of sources across the UK to consider how experiences of the pandemic have been influenced by people’s existing health conditions and inequalities. The evidence has been organised across a number of themes including access to healthcare; community resilience; disproportionately impacted groups; health inequalities in a place; people with underlying conditions.

A perfect storm - health inequalities and the impact of COVID-19

A perfect storm - health inequalities and the impact of COVID-19
LGA 30 July 2021

• This report warns that Covid-19 has created a ‘perfect storm’ of existing inequality and disease, leading to higher rates of coronavirus infections and death among the most disadvantaged people. It says it is vital to act now and drive forward work programmes that reduce inequalities, prevent poor health and improve people’s opportunities to live healthier, more active lives. 
• Examples from local authorities are included, ranging from providing mental health services for tackling loneliness and isolation, to accessing essential items such as food, medicine and financial support.

FutureNHS recovery workspace directory

Recovery Workspace Directory
FutureNHS platform [registration required]

• A directory of FutureNHS workspaces supporting service recovery

COVID-19 and the digital divide: Supporting digital inclusion and skills during the pandemic and beyond

COVID-19 and the digital divide: Supporting digital inclusion and skills during the pandemic and beyond
Centre for Ageing Better 6 July 2021

• This report offers examples of good practice and recommendations for organisations that deliver services to users and help digitally excluded people with skills training.

National Quality Board - Integrated Care Systems

National Quality Board

• The National Quality Board (NQB) was formed in 2009 to champion the quality agenda, secure system alignment and drive quality improvement across the health care, social care and public health system. The NQB’s current core priorities include supporting system transformation and the integration of care and outcomes, understanding and addressing unwarranted variation and inequalities, and supporting learning and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
• NQB Position Statement on Quality in Integrated Care Systems – April 2021
• Shared Commitment to Quality – Refreshed edition, April 2021
• Case Studies on Quality Oversight in ICSs – April 2021

Beyond Digital: Planning for a Hybrid World

Beyond Digital: Planning for a Hybrid World
COVID-19 Committee 21 April 2021

• An examination of the impact that the pandemic-driven digital acceleration might have in the long-term on the aspects of life known to have the biggest impact on our wellbeing: physical and mental health, social connection, education, quality of work.

Coronavirus: Adult social care key issues and sources

Coronavirus: Adult social care key issues and sources
House of Commons Library research briefing 19 April 2021

• This briefing provides an overview of key issues facing the adult social care sector during the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, and provides links to some of the key official guidance for the sector.

PCNs and place-based working: addressing health inequalities in a Covid-19 world

Primary care networks and place-based working: addressing health inequalities in a Covid-19 world
Health Creation Alliance April 2021

• This report provides fresh insights from those working to address health inequalities outside the NHS about how primary care, enabled by PCNs, might access the breadth of potential solutions that are possible when they work in partnership with their communities and local partners.

Covid-19 return to work in the roadmap out of lockdown

Covid-19 return to work in the roadmap out of lockdown
Society of Occupational Medicine 31 March 2021

• These guidelines, published in collaboration with the University of Glasgow, are aimed at workers, employers and health practitioners to increase understanding of the risks of returning to work and the appropriate work-related control measures that could be implemented. Presenting a simple, stepwise approach, the document outlines the multiple factors needed to be considered in the Covid-19 return to work assessment.

Re-examining the model of outpatients and specialist referrals

Re-examining the model of outpatients and specialist referrals
BMJ 29 March 2021

• Nigel Edwards (Nuffield Trust) examines the different models linking primary and secondary care and lessons which can be learnt from the COVPDI-19 pandemic.

State of health and care: The NHS Long Term Plan after Covid-19

State of health and care: The NHS Long Term Plan after Covid-19
IPPR 16 March 2021

• COVID-19 has disrupted the NHS Long Term Plan. This shows the scale of the damage done by the pandemic across several major health conditions (cancer, mental health cardiovascular diseases and multimorbidity) and outlines a package of six ambitious changes to ‘build back better’.

Securing a positive health care technology legacy from COVID-19

Securing a positive health care technology legacy from COVID-19
Health Foundation 16 March 2021

• This long read explores the challenges of implementing health care technologies and investigates patient and staff experiences of technology during the first phase of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It draws on learning from the Health Foundation’s programmes and YouGov surveys of over 4,000 UK adults and over 1,000 NHS staff conducted in October 2020.

Independent Review of Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of COVID-19 in Health Care Settings in the UK

RCN Independent Review of Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of COVID-19 in Health Care Settings in the UK
RCN 4 March 2021

• An independent review of guidelines for the prevention and control of COVID-19 in health care settings in the UK, and an evaluation and messages for future infection-related emergency planning.

Rapid evaluation of health and care services - planning a sustainable solution for the post-COVID reset

Rapid evaluation of health and care services - planning a sustainable solution for the post-COVID reset
AHSN Network February 2021

• In the first wave of COVID-19, health and care services innovated and adapted at unprecedented speed to provide care and protect staff and patients during a rapidly developing global pandemic. This White Paper, led by UCLPartners and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, explores the barriers and facilitators to performing timely, rigorous and effective evaluations of these changes. Using learning from the pandemic, it sets out recommendations for how to prioritise and resource rapid service evaluations to enable more efficient and effective scale-up of health and care innovations, both regionally and nationally.

Twelve criteria for the development and use of COVID-19 vaccine passports

Twelve criteria for the development and use of COVID-19 vaccine passports
The Royal Society, 19 February 2021

• This rapid review of vaccine passports is from the Royal Society to assist in the understanding and control of COVID-19.