A hospital trust has put its ability to meet the UK government’s 18-week referral-to-treatment (RTT) target six months earlier than planned down to waiting-time tracking software.
Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust has already met the national March targets of 90% for non-admitted patients and 85% for admitted patients to be treated within a maximum of 18 weeks after initial referral.
Staff are confident the 100% target will be hit by the end of June, six months ahead of the national deadline for all trusts to fully achieve the 18-week target.
The trust said that the target has been met largely thanks to the use of computer software to track prospective patient waiting times.
Ardentia’s Pathway Manager software gives staff a prospective view of waiting times rather than a retrospective one, allowing them to save all the information they need on a patient’s pathway of care in one data system, so they can easily report on waiting times and risks of breaches to the 18-week regulations.
“Pathway Manager puts us in a very strong competitive position to demonstrate that we can deliver a sub 18-week wait,” said a Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust spokesman.
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