Report attached.

Officers representing the BHRUT Acute Trust advised that the post-pandemic period has seen a large rise in requests for healthcare. BHRUT was only meeting its constitutional standards to treat people within 18 weeks of referral on around 60% of occasions. On cancer performance, the Trust was exceeding national targets with around 87% of patients receiving treatment within 62 days of referral.

Work was ongoing to reduce waiting lists and to lower waits for MRI and CT scans. The Trust was investing £15m in a new diagnostic centre in Barking to address this. This would not be live for at least a year and further updates could be provided. Details of engagement with the public on these proposals could also be provided. Super clinics had also been run to improve patient volume in certain specialities. Measures to address workforce pressures included improved training for staff including cost of living support such as vouchers for staff and access to school uniforms.

The Trust Executive team was seeking to keep a focus on areas identified by the Care Quality Commission. There had been a rise in urgent cancer referrals although it was still hoped to meet cancer targets over the next six months. It was agreed that an update on progress with meeting cancer targets should be given to the Sub-Committee in approximately six months.

It was not felt that the current level of vacancies would impact on the Trust’s ability to deliver the 18 week treatment target. It was hoped this target could be met by early 2024 although cancer targets would be met sooner.

Recruitment and retention issues were not just limited to A & E with many clinicians choosing to live outside London. The Trust was keen to offer its staff career progression across the whole economy. It would be checked if there were currently opportunities for Trust staff to work with the Council.  

Regarding the recently publicised computer error at the Trust, a lot of referrals due to be seen during the pandemic had been held off until after that period. A scripting error had however taken patients off the waiting list after 6 months. The affected patients were now being seen as a priority.

The waiting times issues were not unique to London but officers accepted there was a backlog of long waiting patients at BHRUT and Barts Health. There was a commitment to address this issue across the NHS.

The super clinics were mainly carried out at weekends and it was planned to manage care differently based on the learning from these events. These would not continue indefinitely and there was a need to decide about NHS weekend treatment nationally. An update could be given on the numbers of staff involved in super clinics.

More private sector support was used by the NHS during the pandemic. Other NHS providers were now more commonly used with e.g. Moorfields giving support to the ophthalmology department. At King George Hospital, a Care UK unit continued to provide support for day surgery.

The Sub-Committee noted the position and requested the updates on issues as outlined above.