Waiting Times
Customer newsletter
In this issue
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Katy Dimmock
Programme Support Officer
Waiting Times Programme
ISD Scotland
NHS National Services Scotland
Area 74a
Gyle Square
1 South Gyle Crescent
Edinburgh
EH12 9EB
Tel (0131) 275 6983
Fax (0131) 275 7504
Email k.dimmock@nhs.net
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Editorial
ISD's Waiting Times Programme would like to introduce you to our July 2010 newsletter providing you with the latest information within the waiting times world. There are a number of developments happening at the moment in order to further improve the usefulness of the Waiting Times statistics.
There has been a lot of interesting work going on recently across the Waiting Times Programme, including a user consultation about the content, coverage and navigation of the New Ways Waiting Times Statistics publication. We have been seeking feedback from users of the statistics in order that the published statistics can best suit user needs. Please see below for my information on this and other recent developments in the Programme.
Please feel free to contact us c/o NSS.isdnewways@nhs.net if you have suggestions or comments regarding this or future newsletters.
New Ways
Publication of Waiting Times Statistics – May 2010
The latest waiting times figures (up to 31st March 2010) were published on 25th May. The publication is available to view at www.isdscotland.org/isd/3454.html
Changes to New Ways Validation
Changes to Validation were released into the ‘New Ways’ Warehouse on Sunday 23rd May. This new validation aims to address problematic validation rules and improve some of the error messages received by Health Boards. The revised Waiting Times Validation manual v2.2 can be viewed on the Rules & Guidance page of the New Ways website: www.isdscotland.org/isd/4581.html
‘Re-design’ of New Ways Waiting Times Statistics – User Consultation
Following recommendations by the New Ways Refresh Steering group, along with feedback from current users including the UK Statistics Authority, ISD are in the process of re-designing the presentation of statistics published on our website.
ISD are aware that the current publication tables would benefit from clearer tabular presentation and additional graphical presentation of the underlying data along with improved positioning on the web pages to allow our customers to find relevant data more easily.
Users were recently invited to participate in consultation about the content, coverage and navigation of statistics that ISD plan to publish in the future relating to New Ways Waiting Times statistics. We received a number of helpful responses to our suggestions for improvements. It is hoped that the newly designed tables and charts will be in use by the August 2010 publication.
Please note, the underlying data within each table remains the same. It is not our intention to add or replace previously published figures, purely to display and improve the content, layout and user-interoperability of these statistics.
The consultation document is available at www.isdscotland.org/isd/3454.html. For more information please contact nss.isdnewways@nhs.net.
Equality of access
ISD are using the New Ways Data Warehouse to examine the effect of socioeconomic factors on equality of access.
One study assesses equity of care for children's dental services across socioeconomic groups. Findings suggest that children from more deprived socioeconomic areas are more likely to require dental treatment than those from less deprived areas. However, children from the more deprived areas do not have to wait longer for hospital dental care.
A second study investigates waits, periods of unavailability and non-attendance for patients across the socioeconomic groups to assess if New Ways rules ensures equity of access. There are differences in the way patients access hospital services across socioeconomic groups. However, there is little difference in the overall waiting time experienced.
New Cancer Waiting Times
The publication for the 62-day target for quarter 1 (Jan-Mar 2010) was released on 29th June. To view the publication please go to the statistics page of the New Cancer Waiting Times webpages.
The data and definitions manual has been updated (v3.1) to provide clarification to the coding and definitions; this is effective from 1st July 2010.
Development of the Business Objects New Cancer Waiting Times (NCWT) Universe and reporting structure is underway. Once completed, this will allow NHS Boards to view and run their monthly and quarterly reports. It is the aim that Boards will be able to access their publication reports prior to the September 2010 publication. The ISD team will be in contact with each of the networks to arrange local awareness sessions as required by network staff.
The ISD IT team are currently looking into updating and improving SWIFT DVL - the system on how Boards submit NCWT data and receive error messages.
A data quality audit is planned for late 2010/early 2011. A project outline is currently being developed which will look at how the audit will be carried out, what will be included and where it will be carried out.
An information day is planned to be held later in the year.
Accident and Emergency (A&E)
As a period of intensive testing drew to a conclusion, the new A&E data mart was launched in early July. A&E 2 has been designed in order to support an expansive dataset that promises to facilitate the increasing demand for various avenues of analysis within unscheduled care and beyond.
ISD would like to take the opportunity to thank our colleagues within the Health Boards who have been of vital assistance in supplying test data. Please be assured that the A&E team will be on hand to assist with any teething issues that arise with the inaugural submissions of A&E2 live data.
Meanwhile, the next publication of A&E performance against the 4 hour waiting times standard will be released on 31st August.
Diagnostic Tests and Investigations
In May 2010 ISD published for first time information on patients waiting over four weeks for the eight key diagnostic tests and investigations in addition to patients waiting over six and nine weeks. Over 99.8% of patients waited four weeks or less in March 2010 a level of performance that is two weeks better than the current national standard of six weeks.
For more information please contact NSS.isddmmi@nhs.net or see www.isdscotland.org/isd/4451.html.
UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) assessment
The UKSA is an independent body assessing official statistics for formal accreditation as ‘National Statistics’. The National Statistics label is an assurance that statistics are produced and explained to a high standard and serve the public good.
Waiting times and Waiting lists, which are currently designated as National Statistics, are undergoing assessment by the UKSA.
At the request of ISD, A&E Waiting Times and Diagnostic Tests and Investigations Waiting Times all also undergoing assessment. These areas are currently developmental data that aim to be designated as new National Statistics following their assessment of compliance to the UKSA code of practice.
We will let you know the outcome of this assessment once it is finalised by the UKSA.
More information about the UKSA is available on their website www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk.
Psychological Therapies
You may be aware that the Scottish Government is currently scoping work around a Psychological Therapies Access target. This work is being led by the Mental Health Division and is currently looking at referral pathways and information systems to enable consideration of a future HEAT access target to measure waiting time from referral to treatment for psychological therapies from April 2011. This target will comply with the rules and guidance of ‘New Ways of Defining and Measuring Waiting Lists’. Further information on the scoping phase of this work and relevant contact details can be found in the first newsletter, which was issued mid-July www.isdscotland.org/newsletters/ptwt/10/july.html.
And in other news
Stephen Bush of the Waiting Times Programme (far left in the picture), along with three other colleagues, recently completed the 2010 Caledonian Challenge. This is a charity team event which involves walking 54 miles between Gairlochy (north of Fort William) along the West Highland Way to Auchtertyre (east of Tyndrum) within 24 hours (see the website at www.caledonianchallenge.com for more information).
The team, The West Highland Way To Hell!!, managed to complete the walk in 21 hours and 14 minutes at 7:14am on the morning of Sunday 13th June having started at 10am the previous day. This time included about two and half hours of meeting our support crew at checkpoints along the way to stop for meals, apply blister plasters to soothe aching feet and put on our head torches for the night walking stage between Glencoe and Bridge of Orchy.
It was a daunting task at the start line but an amazing sense of achievement when we (finally!) crossed the finish line. Thankfully, aside from some large blisters on our feet, there were no other ill effects from the walk so we did not need to test out the 4 hour waiting times target at the local A&E!
We have still to do a final tally of the sponsorship money that we have raised but the total is currently sitting at over £2,000 thanks to the generosity of family, friends and work colleagues.