Performance
Monitoring, tracking and validating patients on the 18-week pathway, striving to exceed the 92% national standard.
There are on average 6,200 patients on the live Patient Tracking List (PTL) with an average of 2,480 patients per Pathway Tracker. Targeted tracking enables focusing on the hot spots, patients who have been waiting longer and those that are about to breach the RTT.
Initially, when the Centre opened there was one patient pathway tracker for approximately 1,000 patients.
As the need for analysis and reporting increased, a second tracker was employed and led to the need for the role of Data and Performance Analyst. The PTL has grown by over 400%, requiring an additional recruitment of 3.5 pathway trackers.
An adaptable workforce and focus on first wait (patients waiting for their first outpatient appointment with the Consultant) has led to the Performance team being responsible for booking first outpatient appointments.
Capacity in the team has improved based on flexible working, extended hours and a team rota across six days of the week. All Pathway Trackers are trained and upskilled in all areas of the patient pathway.
Daily interaction with Scheduling, Outpatients, MSK teams, Physiotherapy, Consultants and Radiology teams to ensure patients are treated as soon as possible. There is daily reporting to management, weekly reporting to Trust Performance teams, and monthly reporting to Partner Trusts. This report includes live data on the Patient Tracking List, information about cancellations, admitted and non-admitted waiting lists and provides an action tracker of how challenges are being solved.
The team works in an office within the Management Offices. This is ideal as it provides quick access to the different teams that the Performance Team interacts with, minimising delays.
- Bluespier;
- iPM;
- Soliton;
- PACS;
- iCM;
- Dict8 IT;
- Luna;
- Trust performance scorecards;
- Microsoft office.
It is an integral part of the service, crucial to removing the barriers to ensure all patients receive their definitive treatment in a timely fashion. The team supplies the accurate information upon which decision making for strategic plans are made and informs business and financial planning.
What are the critical steps in the work that your team undertakes?
- Daily update of the Patient Tracking List;
- running reports of Admitted and Non-Admitted Waiting List and Investigating reasons for why patients are waiting;
- validating the Patient Tracking list chronologically, with targeted focus on hot spots;
- booking of first outpatient appointments with a set daily target of appointments booked, for each pathway tracker;
- personal patient contact via an initial telephone call, followed by a letter and text regarding appointment. This reduces the numbers of DNAs;
- weekly supervision meetings to analyse detail, set shared goals and work together to solve challenges;
- staff work autonomously and are trained in every element of the patient pathway. They work flexibly to cover 6 days of the week.
- Capacity issues in outpatients, diagnostics, theatres;
- patient willingness and availability;
- patients who are prisoners – transport and staffing;
- time, physical capacity to handle the ever-growing workload.
- requesting extra lists;
- approaching management for more clinic space/theatre capacity;
- overtime and weekend work;
- supporting outpatients and scheduling with calling patients;
- focus on sections of pathway in more need (i.e. – post COVID backlog: targeting first waits – patients waiting for first appointments and reducing this to pre COVID figures).
- Support and communications with the administrative teams.
- Having the software to support sophisticated reporting functions to best inform your business;
- ensuring the focus is on the most pressured areas of pathways;
- good teamworking relationships across the whole service – clinical and non-clinical teams;
- efficient use of clinic and theatre capacity;
- robust preoperative planning to reduce unnecessary cancellations and lengthy delays-including patient education.
- Teamwork- never underestimate;
- patient education;
- staff training;
- methodical set up – one site;
- good governance: There is daily reporting to Management, weekly reporting to Trust Performance teams, and monthly reporting to Partner Trusts. This report includes live data on the Patient Tracking List, information about cancellations, admitted and non-admitted waiting lists and provides an action tracker of how challenges are being solved.
- Expansion of the team;
- weekly performance meetings to ensure focus.
- Booking the first appointment backlog so well has created a bottleneck further along the pathway – shifting the pressure.
Staff
Staff Member: Patient pathway tracker (Band 4 x 4.5 WTE)
Role:
- tracking patient pathways;
- validating all patients with an incomplete pathway;
- ensure the plan is in place;
- chase any outstanding diagnostics, appointments/ procedures that are detailed as outcomes or requests by clinicians but that have not been acted upon.
Staff Member: Senior Performance and Data Analyst (Band 7 x 1 WTE)
Role:
- supporting the network- answering requests for data 10 hours pw;
- attending meetings 10 hours pw;
- team management and mentoring 7.5 hours pw;
- running reports – supporting management adhoc requests 10 hours.
Staff member’s other roles in the centre:
- reporting on performance;
- offering adhoc data queries; and
- support to the wider team.