Assisting government to deliver high quality and efficient health services against tough targets
PA's track record in assisting government to deliver high quality and efficient public services against stretching performance targets is second to none. We achieve this because we have a solid understanding of the environment and context in which the target needs to be achieved. PA works closely with all the key stakeholder groups to diagnose the real issues behind under-performance, helping them to take ownership of the problem, and then develop a solution that will work for them.
Delivery against the UK Government’s 2005 performance targets is well under way and, in the main, there is promising progress. However, five new targets will be introduced for 2008, including reducing waiting times to 18 weeks, and extending the choice program – which will prove far more stretching to deliver. PA has already begun to support areas where the toughest issues have been identified in meeting 2005 targets, such as the National Orthopaedic Project, with encouraging progress to date.
Case study: National Orthopaedic Project
Most patients, in most specialist units, in most parts of the UK, already wait less than six months for their surgery. Given the additional capacity going into the UK National Health Service (NHS) and the efforts of clinicians, staff and managers, the Department of Health (DH) has reasonable confidence that by December 2005 no one will have to wait for more than six months for their operation. However, a recent Priority Review (to which PA contributed) concluded that this target could be delivered in all specialties, except orthopaedics.
It recommended that the challenges faced by orthopaedics should be tackled through the development of an integrated national strategy. PA has been retained by DH and Prime Minster's Delivery Unit to support the mobilization and delivery of the strategy under the banner of the National Orthopaedic Project.
The project has four major objectives:
- increase the focus on orthopaedics across the service and ensure that the size of the problem is understood
- maximise the impact that existing initiatives such as Choice and Treatment Centres can have on orthopaedics
- intensify risk-based performance management, planning and reporting
- provide direct, tailored support for the highest risk health economies via teams of senior and credible clinicians and managers from across the service.
It is in this last area that PA is focusing most of its attention, and we are working with the DH and Modernisation Agency to support 40 of the most challenged trusts across England in the diagnosis of their situation and in developing pragmatic action plans to resolve them.
