Patients in Shropshire being made to wait at least 16 weeks for routine NHS treatment
According to the British Medical Journal, NHS health boards across England that is deliberately delaying patient care by introducing minimum waits for treatment
NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin in one of several NHS health boards across England that is deliberately delaying patient care by introducing minimum waits for treatment, an investigation has found.
Analysis by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) found minimum waits of up to 16 weeks for hip, knee and cataract surgery or other planned procedures as a way of managing demand and controlling costs.
The BMJ used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain data from 35 out of 36 integrated care boards (ICBs) in England.
Of these, 17 have introduced minimum waits of between 12 and 16 weeks for key procedures.
Of the ICBs with minimum waiting times in place, two have introduced a minimum wait of 16 weeks for all routine procedures, the investigation found, one of these being NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.
The other is West Yorkshire.
The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) said it was “concerned by the scale” of measures that can leave patients suffering in pain, while GP leaders said the waits were “difficult to justify.
Minimum waits in Shropshire are to "promote fairness"
Shropshire said it had “implemented a minimum waiting time threshold of 16 weeks” to “promote fairness, reduce variation, and ensure that all patients receive timely and equitable access to elective services”.
Other ICBs have introduced minimum waits in areas such as cataract surgery (16 weeks in some places), and others said they have a “planning assumption” that patients will be forced to wait several months.
The Royal College of Surgeons of England president, Tim Lane, said: “We recognise the significant financial and capacity pressures facing the NHS, but patients who are clinically ready for treatment should not be deliberately made to wait. Unnecessary delays can prolong pain, limit mobility, increase anxiety and allow conditions to deteriorate.
“Access to treatment should be determined by clinical need, not where a patient lives. Widespread use of minimum waits risks creating a postcode lottery and further delaying care.
“Minimum waits are not a substitute for addressing the NHS’s underlying capacity problems.
“We need increased capital investment, improved infrastructure and better use of existing capacity so patients receive their treatment as promptly as possible.”
NHS recognises "any wait for treatment can be difficult"
An NHS spokesperson said: “While commissioned wait policies help the NHS make the best possible use of its services, staff and budgets – all patients are seen in order of clinical need.
“We recognise that any wait for treatment can be difficult for patients, and we would not expect any organisation to commission waits that risks breaching NHS Constitution standards, which set an 18-week maximum wait for elective treatment.”