Clinical engagement key in reducing waiting lists

The current Government has pledged to reduce NHS waiting lists within this Parliament. Consequently, there is now greater need than ever for space for delivering care. We know that we need the views of clinicians to ensure that healthcare buildings will meet their needs. However, clinicians' time is more constrained than ever, as a result of the new commitment to reducing waiting times, which comes on top of a period of 'COVID recovery' under the last Government.

In this article we explore how we can make one aspect of a new healthcare development more effective and efficient — clinical engagement. We bring an innovative 'Experts Network'i approach to clinical engagement, that requires less time from hospital staff, gets the information and buy-in needed for a new development, and is a better experience for staff. Streamlining clinical engagement and making the process more targeted, efficient, and enjoyable, is one way of ensuring that we have better facilities and more engaged frontline staff.

Demand for healthcare was outstripping supply even before the COVID-19 pandemic, and has now reached unprecedented levels. The NHS 'elective backlog' is currently around 7.5 million cases, or over 6 million people waiting for procedures.¹ In response, the Government has said that reducing the length of these waiting lists is central to its health policy. It has committed to clear all waits of over 18 weeks (currently around three million people) within five years.