Waiting for hospital care - Responses report

This report summarises responses to the recommendations Healthwatch Surrey made in their report called ‘Waiting for hospital care’, which is available here: https://nds.healthwatch.co.uk/reports-library/waiting-hospital-care.

The earlier research made three recommendations:

1. Think Active Management – is the health of people on waiting lists being actively managed, or is it a hiatus in their care?

2. Review processes to ensure all patients are given the information, advice, contacts and signposting they need to stay well and minimise deterioration while waiting.

3. Communicate with patients regularly to reduce stress, improve trust, and reduce timewasting inbound queries.

Healthwatch Surrey received responses from Surrey and Sussex Healthcare, Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Guildford and Waverly Health and Care Alliance, and Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust. Stakeholder responses recognised that communication with people currently on waiting lists is not as good as providers would like it to be, that this is a difficult area to improve due to existing pressure and affordability issues, and that communication is an area they want to improve.

Responses from stakeholders also outline completed pieces of work, existing workstreams, and future plans for work to improve communications.