Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL) which provided an update on elective care, diagnostics and cancer operations plus work being carried out to reduce waits for patients. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 9’, is filed with these minutes.

The Committee welcomed to the meeting for this item Siobhan Favier, Director of Planned Care, UHL, Suzanne Nancarrow, Deputy Chief Operating Officer - Planned Care, UHL, and Kelly Lambert, Associate Medical Director for Cancer, UHL.

In presenting the report it was emphasized that UHL was not content with the performance for elective care, diagnostics and cancer, and the impact on patients due to delays in receiving care was acknowledged.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(i)           Members raised strong concerns about the length of the waiting lists and a lack of overall progress with performance over recent years. In response UHL argued that there had been improvements particularly with regards to the numbers of patients waiting the longest. In response to a request for more detail on the actions being taken by UHL to tackle performance issues, including the dates that the actions would be completed, it was agreed that the improvement plan would be shared with the Committee after the meeting.

(ii)         The industrial action being taken by resident doctors did have an impact as activity needed to be reduced during strike periods as the staff was not available to cover it.

(iii)        UHL was the NHS Trust most badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic therefore it was taking longer to recover from the pandemic.

(iv)       Whilst UHL was not meeting the NHS standards for cancer with regards to timescales, other NHS Trusts nationally were in a similar position. UHL was the largest NHS trust in the East Midlands for cancer referrals and it had a good reputation for cancer treatment therefore continued to receive more referrals than other Trusts. Whilst on a waiting list cancer patients were assessed and prioritised based on a mixture of need and risk but also the length of time they had been waiting. Administrative staff regularly tracked the patients on the waiting list.

(v)         Whilst campaigns which had taken place over the years regarding stopping smoking had a positive effect on the amount of patients presenting with cancer, this was balanced out by the ageing of the population and the greater likelihood of cancer in the older population.

(vi)       East Midlands Planned Care Centre based at the General Hospital was designed to reduce the number of patients waiting for appointments and treatment. Hinckley Community Diagnostics Centre which had recently opened would also have an impact. Members raised concerns that plans for a same-day surgery unit in Hinckley had been cancelled and therefore the Community Diagnostics Centre would stand in isolation in Hinckley. In response reassurance was given that the cancellation of the same-day surgery unit would not have a significant impact on the planned care waiting lists.

(vii)      UHL was working with the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme which was a national NHS England programme designed to improve the treatment and care of patients. The GIRFT programme was helping UHL improve productivity, throughput and patient follow-ups.

(viii)    Going forward technology would play an increasingly important role in diagnostics and treatment. Artificial Intelligence (AI) could be used for assessing scans, though humans would still play a role in viewing scans as well. AI could also be used to summarise consultations and dictate letters. The NHS app was gaining greater functionality particularly with regards to primary care. The use of robotics for surgical procedures was becoming more prevalent and UHL had recently received its third surgical robot.

(ix)       Currently a patient’s full medical record could not be viewed throughout all parts of the NHS; only the summary care record could be viewed. A balance needed to be struck with sharing the right level of detail about a patient’s history. A new Patient Administration System known as ‘Nervecentre’ was being implemented in UHL which would enable better sharing of information across the NHS and management of patients.

RESOLVED:

That the update on elective care, diagnostics and cancer operations be noted with concern.