HIT teams to be sent into trusts to improve efficiency

The government will send in teams of clinical experts to 20 trusts to improve theatre productivity, the health and social care secretary has announced.

High-intensity theatre (HIT) lists have been used by Guys and St Thomas’  Foundation Trust to significantly increase the number of operations carried out each day.

An article in the journal Nature last year explained: ”This increase is achieved by meticulous planning and parallel processing of patient care on the day of surgery, aiming to minimise or eliminate turnaround time, minimise non-operative time and maximise operating time.” 

Mr Streeting said the trusts would receive visits from the HIT teams but said they would be “in areas with the highest numbers of people off work sick.”

The support will be led by the national Getting It Right First Time team and extend beyond HIT to include other measures such as reducing missed appointments, which are higher in deprived areas, and identifying local capacity in the private sector, NHSE said.

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Source: HSJ, 25 September 2024