Frequently Asked Questions

Monitoring and Measurement of Waiting Times

Does New Ways change how waiting times are measured?
No. The current national waiting time standard is not changed by New Ways. For new outpatients, the basis of measurement for the national waiting time standard will continue to be from the date of receipt of the referral at the hospital.

Could I measure waiting times from date of referral?
If you wish to measure waiting times from date of referral locally you can do so as the New Ways data set will capture the date of referral in addition to the date of receipt of referral.

When should a patient be added to the waiting list, at the decision to treat or at a pre-operative assessment clinic?
Waiting list date is the date that a decision is made, by the healthcare professional responsible for a patient's care, to put the patient on a waiting list (Health and Social Care Data Dictionary). The decision to operate is made at an outpatient clinic or when diagnostic tests confirm the need for an operation. This is the date that should be recorded.  A pre-operative assessment clinic is only used to confirm that  the patient is medically fit to undergo the planned procedure.

How will return outpatients for procedure be distinguished from 'ordinary' return outpatients?
Only those return outpatients who have a procedure recorded will be identified for monitoring purposes. It is therefore important to ensure that WT3 (date placed on waiting list) is entered to ensure the correct wait is measured. Data providers should also ensure that an OPCS code is recorded for these patients.

How will a patient's waiting time be calculated under New Ways?
The calculation of a patient's waiting time, whether (a) the "complete" wait to removal from the waiting list, or (b) the "census" wait to any selected point in time depends on three factors:

1. Date patient removed from waiting list (or census date)
2. Date wait 'effectively' starts
3. The 'effective' unavailability

So, the general formula for calculating the wait is:

WAIT = 1 - 2 - 3

The date the wait effectively starts is derived via the (a) initial start date (ie, date referral received for new OPs, and waiting list date for IPs/DCs, (b) any change to the initial start date due to multiple reasonable offers, and (c) any change to the initial start date due CNA/DNA.  Both (b) & (c) are determined via New Ways rules and thus the effective start date is the maximum date of (a), (b) & (c).

The effective unavailability is also determined via New Ways rules.  Any date within a period of valid unavailability (ie, over 7 days in length unless it's a PFB period) might affect the waiting time.  Valid periods which fall entirely within the wait (effective start date to date patient removed from waiting list (or census date)) should be subtracted.  Valid periods which "straddle" the effective start date or the date patient removed from waiting list (or census date)) should only be subtracted if that portion which lies within the wait is valid (ie, over 7 days in length unless it's a Patient Focused Booking (PFB) period). 

Should I be recording all non-emergency patients, even if they have a very short wait?
Yes. All non-emergency patients should have the date of decision and date of admission recorded, even if it is the same or next day.

Where a patient is booked directly onto a clinic list, what date should be used as the 'Date referral received' where a referral letter is not received until after the patient is seen ? 
Where a patient is booked directly onto a clinic list, the date the booking is made should be recorded as 'Date referral received'. [Added 20 April]

What is the correct format of codes for recording Allied Health Professionals (AHP)?
AHP should be recorded under 'GEN12 - Consultant/HCP responsible for care' . The accepted formats for AHPs are as follows:

XX999999: National Dummy Code
XX999999: Local AHP code
XX99999: Local AHP code
XX9999: Local AHP code

Where 'X' is any letter and '9' is any number

AHP activity is not included in the current guarantee times therefore it it not mandatory for NHS Boards to submit AHP data. If however they choose to submit it they are welcome to do so. Any data with an AHP code will be excluded from the New Outpatient cohort for analysis. It should be noted that any records with a GMC or dental HCP code recorded under GEN12 will be included in the guarantee target cohort regardless of the specialty, for example if a Physiotherapy clinic is recorded with a GMC number in the HCP field the record will be monitored against the guarantee. [Added 20 April]