Cambridgeshire sets limits on providers to cut patient transfer delays

A letter from NHS East of England chair Sarah Boulton following the primary care trust’s annual accountability review highlighted “delayed transfers of care (DTOCs)”. It said this is an area “in which the Cambridgeshire system has performed poorly for some time, although significant progress has been made during the year”.

To deal with the delayed transfers the PCT has agreed “contractual limits on the number of DTOCs at any point in time which represent a stretching target on current performance” with Hinchingbrooke Health Care Trust and Cambridge University Hospitals Foundation Trust, the letter said.

It said the PCT was working with the local authority to reduce delays and will try to “match availability of resource with need”.