Whilst the NHS Referral To Treatment (RTT) waiting times increased by 40%, the Isle of Wight (IOW) has reduced by 1%. In July 2020, the Trust commissioned Medefer to help deliver its virtual outpatient services as part of its COVID-19 recovery programme.
The COVID-19 Challenge
The Trust had identified over 3,000 patients waiting for an outpatient attendance across all clinical specialties and a forecasted GP referral activity of 27,000 patients per year.
The primary concern was managing the clinical risk of closing outpatient services during the pandemic, and ensuring patients requiring urgent intervention for non-COVID-19 related conditions were managed appropriately and timely. All whilst reducing the risk of infection.
Delivering The Trust’s Ambition
Together we:
improved patient access to care when required and reduced patient waiting times
enabled GPs to continue to refer for consultant review and mitigate the risk of patients being held in primary care including two week waits
released clinical workforce capacity for reallocation
enabled rapid recovery of pre and post pandemic backlog
delivered a sustainable outpatient model to support the transformation of the wider health economy across the IOW
The Isle of Wight partnership with Medefer was recognised as the winner of the ‘Best Elective Care Recovery Initiative’ in the 2022 HSJ Partnership Awards.
“Medefer’s virtual platform was safely implemented, is easy to navigate, and has ultimately led to faster access to patient care within our community” – Joe Smyth, Chief of Operations Isle of Wight NHS Trust
