England nears 18-week breach as election approaches
The English NHS achieved the main 18-weeks target in January, but the gap is closing and it's turning into a nail-biter as the Election approaches.
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Turbulence ahead for Scottish waiting times
The Scottish Government is trying to control the explosive growth in outpatient waits, but risks unleashing a torrent of demand that could overwhelm its higher-profile waiting time targets. All in the run-up to this year's UK General Election and next year's Scottish Parliament Election.
Recurring or non-recurring?
Is this once-off, or something we need to keep doing? It's an expensive confusion to make, but it happens up and down the NHS. Here's how Gooroo Planner makes it all absolutely clear.
The injustice of it all
NHS managers are used to life not being fair. But those of you who are responsible for 18 week waiting times must be feeling particularly hard done by at the moment. (First published in Roy Lilley's NHS Managers newsletter)
England’s waits creep up again as Election looms
Long waits deteriorated across the board in December, especially in the longer-waiting services. Even so, there is a decent chance of the English NHS delivering its 18-week targets right up to the General Election.
Planning healthcare in the ultimate detail
You can already plan next year's capacity in one big lump. And you can break that plan down week by week. Now you can go even further, and model it patient by patient.
Caveat emptor
A gap has opened up on waiting times, and the Government is papering over the cracks for the Election. (First published at Roy Lilley's nhsManagers newsletter)
England’s waiting list initiative ends with a sprint
A massive effort at the end of England's much-extended waiting list initiative saw record admission rates and a record focus on treating long-waiters. The result? It hardly made any difference. Even so, the Government stands a reasonable chance of squeezing out a clean set of waiting times figures in the run-up to the election.
Formal response to the NHS Standard Contract 2015/16 consultation
Why sanctions on the perverse admitted and non-admitted targets should be minimised in the NHS Contract, and why CCGs should be allowed more discretion over when to apply them.
Draft NHS Contract bolsters perverse targets
NHS England clearly realise that if you punish hospitals for treating their long-waiting patients, they will be less likely to clear their backlogs for you. So why have they not carried that logic, and the Secretary of State’s clear criticism of perverse targets, over into the contract sanctions?