Improve productivity and efficiency
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We will identify and remove activities from the provision of care which result in time and cost being expended but which do not materially improve patient outcomes.
Key actions
We will do this by:
- making it a core objective for our NHS to reduce waste and inefficiency
- listen to the people who support and deliver care as experts in how to change the way we do things
- focusing on changes that can be applied to many different settings
Examples of efficiencies that we are working on now, but which could achieve more savings, include:
- improving the way we diagnose conditions and illnesses, so that patients can be better supported to recover
- discharging patients from hospital more efficiently, so they can get home quicker and bed space can be used better
- providing better support to people with complex mental ill health, learning disabilities or autism in their communities, so they need hospital based services less
Our priorities for 2023/24
We will focus on:
- reducing bed occupancy in our acute hospitals to 92% average
- fully use the capacity we have in our operating theatres. This offers the opportunity to increase use by 15% to 20%.
- reducing further the numbers of people who “did not attend” appointments
- holding follow up appointments only when they are useful to the patient
During this year we will also continue to refine the use of our “clinical navigation hub”.
We are introducing a multi-disciplinary team to support the clinical navigation hub, made up of GPs, advanced clinical practitioners, nurses, ambulance staff and social care professionals.
They will help direct people to the right part of the health and care system when calling 111 or 999.
What this means for me
You will wait less time for an operation once this course of treatment has been agreed.
If you need to be admitted to hospital due to ill-health you will stay in hospital for only as long as you need to.
This is better for your care and it also ensures hospital beds and staff are always available to care the most poorly people.
You will only need to attend for appointments when necessary.
As NHS staff we will also work together behind the scenes so that we are helping our colleagues in other professions to seek advice and refer you to the right place, first time.
We will especially seek to increase coordination and support for people who have a severe mental illness or a learning disability, so that you can spend less time in hospital care.
All of these steps will help to make sure that the right care is available for patients who need it, and we are not wasting time or money.