NHS to target same elective activity next year

Health systems will be asked to deliver the same amount of elective activity next year as they were tasked with completing in 2023-24, HSJ understands.

Local leaders have been issued with varying interim targets for 2024-25 that produce an average national threshold of 7% more activity than pre-covid levels, on a value-weighted basis.

It means the target for the current year has effectively been rolled over into next, suggesting the elective recovery is a year behind schedule.

Even if systems hit their thresholds next year, they will still fall well short of the central target set out in the elective recovery plan in 2022.

Recent weeks have seen other elective ambitions ditched or watered down, including the prime minister’s headline pledge to bring the overall waiting list down. It is likely a result of the government accepting it cannot push more elective activity due to ongoing strikes and overspending.

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Source: HSJ, 27 February 2024