The Government has published its Elective Reform Plan, which sets out the steps needed to tackle waiting list backlogs across the country and it has named our Trust as an example of national best practice, and a short video about our progress has been made by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to help share "the best of the NHS with the rest of the NHS".
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, shared the video on his social media accounts, citing CHFT as “proof showing how it can be done”.
In November, DHSC contacted us to find out more about how we turned one of the longest elective waiting lists in the country to one of the shortest following the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2021, the Trust had 4,000 patients waiting longer than 52 weeks for their treatment - today that number is under 20.
During their visit they toured our theatre departments, speaking with colleagues about how they tackled the problem, and also with patients about what this means to them.
Colleagues featured in the film include Director of Operations for Surgery Tom Strickland, Consultant Surgeon Arin Saha, Consultant Surgeon Tahir Quayyum, Head of Operational Performance Mark Butterfield and Waiting List Co-ordinator Jane Rudd.
One patient, Nick, said: "The communication has been exceptionally good here, keeping patients on board with what is happening. It gives you a lot of confidence that these people are good at what they do.
"Fingers crossed, this will resolve the problem and I can return to a relatively active personal life."
