Government may 'ditch' NHS targets on cancer and A&E waiting times
Government could ‘ditch’ targets on cancer treatment, A&E waiting times and ambulance response as it looks to simplify how performance is measured in the NHS
- Almost all NHS waiting targets are set to be put under review by the Government
- Ministers could ditch cancer, A&E and ambulance targets to cut red tape
- Health Secretary Steve Barclay has promised big changes in the health service
- There are concerns about lack of accountability in the NHS should targets go
Targets on waiting times at accident and emergency (A&E) departments, cancer treatment and ambulance response times could be ditched the Government looks to streamline how performance is measured in the NHS.
Almost all targets across the NHS are under review as ministers try to make headway on longstanding problems in the health service that have left it with a record backlog of people waiting for treatment.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said there will be fewer targets in the health service and has vowed to be ‘ruthless’ in axeing NHS red tape with a cull of bureaucrats on the horizon.
This could take the form of removing all targets apart from the goal of all non-urgent patients being seen by a specialist with 18 weeks, according to one health minister.
It would mean that targets such as 85 per cent of cancer patients starting treatment within 62 days – something that has not been achieved since January 2016 – could face the chop.
Ambulance response times and A&E waiting time targets are set to be put under review by the Government. Pictured: Ambulances sit outside the emergency department at Royal London Hospital
New targets that were set to be introduced in A&E’s in England could be scrapped by ministers, it is being reported. Pictured: People sit in the accident and emergency department at Royal Free Hospital in London
This has sparked fears over the culture in the NHS, with Minesh Patel, head of policy at Macmillan Cancer Support, telling the Times ‘there is a real danger that we lose accountability for performance and se treatment delays spiral out of control even further’ without targets.
And the Health Service Journal reports that ministers have ‘effectively ditched’ A&E targets in favour the easy-to-measure goal of having 95 per cent of patients admitted, treated or discharged within four hours of arrival.
This is instead of new targets such as making sure patients would see a doctor nurse within 15 minutes of arriving at A&E.
The journal said the NHS was still talking with the government about the targets last night, with the organisation having previously said its new measures were ‘more sophisticated and patient-centred’.
The Department of Health and Social Care told the Times last night the NHS ‘will publish a full recovery plan, including interim milestones, in the new year’, adding that it will receive an extra £6.6billion in the next two years.
A&E departments are facing ‘record’ demand in the lead up to winter, which is traditionally the busiest time of the year for hospitals.
It comes as NHS England gets set to launch its annual 111 Online campaign today, urging people to use the service to get urgent healthcare online.
It can direct people to the most appropriate local treatment option, NHS England said.
People should still call 999 and go to A&E when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk, it added.
It is estimated up to two fifths of A&E attendances are avoidable or could be better treated elsewhere, NHS England said.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director said: ‘Last month our hard-working staff contended with another record month of A&E attendances and the most serious ambulance callouts, which is only the tip of the iceberg of the growing pressures that the NHS is facing this winter, including the threat of a “twindemic” of Covid and flu, and reduced hospital capacity caused by issues discharging patients into social care.
A woman having a breast screening on a mammogram machine (file image). Cancer waiting list targets could be ditched by the Government as it looks to streamline NHS performance
‘This new campaign will remind the public that NHS 111 Online is available to signpost people to the best option for their care needs ahead of winter – it can provide the most appropriate local treatment option for medical issues quickly without needing to leave your home and saving you an unnecessary trip to A&E.
‘It is vital that people continue to use A&E and call 999 in an emergency so as ever, please do come forward for the care you may need.’
NHS 111 Online asks people to enter their postcode, age, sex, and main symptom before asking a series of questions about their health concern.
It was the busiest ever October in A&E and for the most serious ambulance callouts, NHS England said.
More than 2.17 million patients attended A&E departments in England over this period, it added.
Ambulance services also responded to 83,986 calls, it said.
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