• Around 1.3 million of waiting list on multiple RTT pathways, new data reveals
  • NHSE says new data will help develop personalised care plans for patients on multiple pathways
  • Data published as overall waiting list hits record high 7.8 million

New data suggests around 700,000 cases on the elective waiting list relate to patients who are on at least four different pathways, and NHS England says personalised care plans must be developed to treat them more efficiently.

NHSE today published new data which reveals the overall referral to treatment waiting list, of 7.8 million cases, is made up of 6.5 million individual patients. The difference is due to some patients waiting for more than one treatment.

Stella Vig, NHSE’s clinical director for secondary care, told HSJ around 2 to 3 per cent of the individual patients on the waiting list are on four to five pathways or more.

A crude calculation using the midpoints (2.5 per cent and 4.5 pathways) suggests this group totals around 160,000, and accounts for around 700,000 cases.

Actual v cases

Ms Vig said: “That’s a far more workable number for us to deep dive on and really look at developing personalised care plans for those patients most in need.

“There are real opportunities to use this data to help develop personalised care plans, merge appointments, or have multiple appointments on the same day. As well as being better clinically and more efficient, it will be far more convenient for patients and help reduce missed appointments.”

A time series for the number of “unique patients” on the national waiting list showed this list rising from 4.9 million in September 2021 to 6.5 million in September 2023. The proportion of unique patients on the list has remained relatively stable.

Today’s waiting list data follows NHSE announcing yesterday that efforts to bring down the elective waiting list were being curtailed, after the Treasury refused to fund most of a £1bn NHS deficit driven by strikes, as reported by HSJ yesterday.

In terms of the overall headline waiting list, the rise between August and September was smaller than recent monthly rises, with the figure increasing by around 24,000 to hit 7.77 million.

The number of 65-week waiters was down by 385 on August, but the figure still sits at just over 109,000, and the target to virtually eliminate this cohort by March will almost certainly be missed.

Year-long waiters, which the NHSE elective recovery plan commits to eliminate by March 2025, were also slightly reduced, cut by around 5,500, but the figure still stands at over 391,000.

 

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