Health Targets a Blunt Instrument
10/07/2014
This morning on Radio 4’s Today programme, Clare Marx, the new President of the Royal College of Surgeons has argued for a review of the NHS 18 week GP referral to treatment target. She called the target a blunt instrument.
I didn’t think I would ever argue this, but I like it because it is a blunt instrument.
The 18 week target has been round a long time, since the government before last. People know what it is and what it means. Is it perfect? No it isn’t and Clare Marx is absolutely right in saying that for many complaints it is too long.
But I look at it the other way. I saw this as a line in the sand that stopped waiting lists growing forever. It is a minimum standard that has to be achieved. It is fine to say that some complaints can wait, but in reality I know cases where the 18 week target was breached and then the patient has found out that the complaint has become in operable because it was seen as minor without proper investigation and diagnosis.
Yes we need to reduce waiting time for many treatments and we should do this. But the 18 week target is so useful for me because it is blunt, people know about it, it has been around a long time and it creates a back stop. I think we remove it at our peril.
Mike Bourne
Categories & Tags:
Leave a comment on this post:
You might also like…
My Apprenticeship Journey – Broadening Horizons
Laura, Senior Systems Engineer at a leading aircraft manufacturing company, joined Cranfield on the Systems Engineering Master’s Apprenticeship after initially considering taking a year off from her role to complete an MSc. Apprenticeship over MSc? ...
The Library app is back!
The Library app is back! It's exactly the same as before (although it will get a fresh look in a few months) and if you hadn't removed it from an existing device it should just ...
PhD researcher at the IF Oxford Science and Ideas Festival
IF Oxford is a science and ideas Festival packed with inspiring, entertaining and immersive events for people all ages. PhD researcher, Zahra attended the festival. Here she shares what motivated her to get involved. ...
What leadership skills are required to meet the demands of digitalisation?
Digital ecosystems are shifting the dynamics of the world as we know it. With digitalisation being a norm in the software industry, there is currently a rapid rise in its translation ...
My PhD experience within the Centre for Air Transport at Cranfield University
Mengyuan began her PhD in the Centre for Air Transport in October 2022. She recently shared what she is working on and how she has found studying at Cranfield University so ...
In the tyre tracks of the Edwardian geologists
In April 1905 a group of amateur geologists loaded their cumbersome bicycles on to a north-bound train at a London rail station and set off for Bedfordshire on a field excursion. In March 2024 a ...