NHS announces £160m for ‘accelerator sites’ to tackle waiting lists

The NHS today announced a £160 million initiative to tackle waiting lists and develop a blueprint for elective recovery as early reports show the health service is recovering faster after the second wave of the pandemic.

Indicators suggest operations and other elective activity were already at four-fifths of pre-pandemic levels in April, well ahead of the 70 per cent threshold set out in official guidance despite NHS staff still dealing with thousands of Covid patients along with rolling out the largest vaccination programme in health service history.

NHS England is now seeking to accelerate the recovery by trialling new ways of working in a dozen areas and five specialist children’s hospitals.

Amanda Pritchard, NHS Chief Operating Officer, said:

“With Covid cases in hospitals now significantly reducing thanks to the extraordinary success of the NHS vaccination programme, our focus is now on rapidly recovering routine services. Early figures show local teams are already well ahead of schedule, but we want to go further, faster which is why we are investing £160 million to find new ways to tackle waiting lists.”

The ‘elective accelerators’ will each receive a share of £160m along with additional support to implement and evaluate innovative ways. Initiatives include a high-volume cataract service, one-stop testing facilities, greater access to specialist advice for GPs and pop-up clinics so patients can be seen and discharged closer to home.

Virtual wards and home assessments, 3D eye scanners, at-home antibiotic kits, ‘pre-hab’ for patients about to undergo surgery, AI in GP surgeries and ‘Super Saturday’ clinics will also be trialled.

Professor Neil Mortensen, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England said: “We welcome today’s announcement of funding for accelerator sites to explore and test new ways to get the elective backlog down. It will take both innovation and collaboration to reduce the huge waiting list that has built up over the last year.”

Rachel Power, Chief Executive of the Patients Association, said: “Steps to accelerate the recovery of elective treatment are very welcome – the importance of treatment being timely, to ensure the best possible outcomes, is well recognised. Effective communication with patients at this critical juncture is also essential, and we have been pleased to work with NHS England on developing principles for effective communication with patients about their elective treatment.”