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Year at a glance - key highlights

The 8 key Programme Teams each had a series of deliverables and milestones that we worked towards over the year. 

A summary of our progress towards these milestones, and our key achievements, is set out below. 

Modernising Patient Pathways

Active Clinical Referral Triage (ACRT):

  • More than 138,000 appointments saved
  • £24 million cost avoidance
  • 2,249,000 patient travel miles avoided

Patient Initiated Review (PIR):

  • More than 71,000 appointments saved
  • £11 million cost avoidance
  • 1,278,000 patient travel miles avoided

Clinical pathways 

  • 43 pathways published

National Elective Coordination Unit

  • 39 waiting list validation campaigns
  • £3.5 million cost avoidance to Boards
  • 88,000 patients validated
  • 8,500 patients treated across all NECU campaigns
  • average 9 per cent removal rate from waiting list after validation

Cancer Improvement and Earlier Diagnosis

Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services

  • 16.3 days mean time from RCDS referral to outcome
  • 3,616 RCDS referrals received (69 per cent accepted)
  • 96 per cent patients very satisfied with the care provided

Early Bird Campaign

  • 77% survey responses showed awareness of campaign
  • 6,245 engagements with members of the public

Head and Neck Pathway

  • Optimal Cancer Diagnostic Pathway approved

Accelerated National Innovation Adoption (ANIA)

  • 8 programmes on the ANIA pathway
  • 4 programmes approved for national adoption
  • Closed Loop System successfully onboarding patients
  • ANIA model - revised 2-step model in place
  • ANIA national delivery - partnership with Healthcare Improvement Scotland, Public Health Scotland, NHS National Services Scotland, Scottish Health Innovation Partnership and NHS Education for Scotland

National Green Theatres Programme

  • 10 Opportunities for Change published
  • £9 million green dividend projected
  • 20 Specialty Delivery Group and Programme Board meetings have taken place
  • More than 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) savings estimated
  • More than 12 actions in development toward improving NHS Scotland carbon footprint
  • 6 Actions for Adoption published

National Unscheduled Care Programme

Strategic Planning and Board Delivery

  • 5 portfolios of work have transitioned over the year
  • 5 national heat maps have been developed
  • 22 Board discovery days undertaken
  • 2 national webinars conducted

Community urgent care

  • Scoping work to support development of National  Urgent Care pathways 

Flow Navigation Centre

  • Minor injuries scheduling in place for most Boards 

Hospital at Home

  • Outpatient Parenteral Antibiotic Therapy Specialty Delivery Group in development 

Optimising Flow

  • Currently developing a whole system Operating Framework to support Board escalation measures 
  • Development of new mobile App to support Day of Care Audits 

Front Door Medicine

  • New Specialty Delivery Group being developed 

National Endoscopy Programme

Redcap endoscopy surveillance database

  • In use in 12 Health Boards
  • new national database developed and in place

National endoscopy training

  • Staff from 10 Boards progressing through the training
  • 40 staff have completed training

Planned Care Programme

Trauma and Orthopaedics

  • 9 Board Orthopaedic Peer Reviews since September 2023
  • 8 per cent improvement in patients discharged by day 3 (Enhanced Recovery After Surgery)

Ophthalmology

  • 120,000 patients onboarded to electronic patient record

Radiology

  • 6 per cent reduction in waiting list
  • 11 per cent reduction in waiting times for patients waiting 6 or more weeks

National Imaging Training Programme

  • 11 staff completed training, resulting in
  • 6,350 patients scanned

Planned Care Performance

  • Regular improvement meetings held with all Boards  
  • Key areas of focus included theatre utilisation, Day Surgery,  Whole System Flow and protecting Planned Care