Manager ‘bootcamps’ helped eliminate two-year waiters

The chief executive of one of the first teaching trusts in the country to have eliminated two-year waiters for elective care has said there is ‘no magic to it’ and it can be replicated elsewhere.

Since the beginning of April, University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire Trust has reported zero patients waiting over two years for their elective treatment – ahead of NHS England’s target of July 2022.

According to the latest data, there are now 42 trusts that have eliminated 104-week waits and UHCW is the largest trust to have done this. 

UHCW chief executive Andy Hardy said that in order to achieve this the trust had been “relentless” in its focus on waiting times and had set up “bootcamps” to help managers understand how referral to treatment works.

Mr Hardy said in an interview with HSJ: “It really does come down to a laser-like focus on waiting times, both at an executive level, down to a group level, and down to speciality level. It can be replicated. There’s no magic to it.”

He said: “We use data to drive our organisations away from bad decisions and I have a weekly access meeting with the chief operating officer to look at where we are against all access targets, but obviously we focus on waiting times."

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Source: HSJ, 15 June 2022