Waiting time targets – like happiness – are best pursued indirectly
It sounds sensible to book patients in before they breach the target. But in practice it is unfair, unsafe, and keeps waiting times on the brink of failure. There is a better way.
Constant juggling
The trouble with scheduling patients is all the chopping and changing. Wouldn’t it be better just to book every patient safely and fairly, and fill up the sessions properly according to straightforward rules?
Blog posts
Transforming real waiting lists with better scheduling
Starting with a real consultant's waiting list, we show how a rules-based approach to patient scheduling can dramatically reduce waiting times.
Protecting urgent patients
Protecting urgent patients is easy if you are willing to waste some capacity. But with a little extra care, you can protect urgents and be efficient at the same time.
Managing to the RTT target
A deeper dive into the incentives created by various elective waiting time targets, compared with patient-centred booking.
