Cornwall and Devon's COVID-19 hospital to be 'accelerator site' to tackle NHS waiting times
The Exeter Nightingale will perform diagnostic tests as part of a £160m funding drive, which will also include virtual wards
Last updated 13th May 2021
Virtual wards, 3D eye scanners and at-home antibiotic kits are among the new initiatives to be trialled as part of a multimillion-pound effort to tackle lengthy waiting lists in the NHS.
Funding of £160 million has been announced by NHS England to aid the health service's recovery after the pandemic.
Figures last month revealed the number of people in England waiting to begin hospital treatment had risen to a new record.
A total of 4.7 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of February - the highest figure since records began in August 2007.
But NHS England said indicators suggest operations and other elective activity were at four-fifths of pre-pandemic levels in April, which is "well ahead" of the 70% threshold set out in official guidance.
It said it is working to speed up the health service's recovery by trialling new ways of working in 12 areas and five specialist children's hospitals.
The 12 trial areas include Cornwall and Devon's Nightingale Hospital in Exeter, originally set up to deal with a surge in Covid cases in the south-west.
The so-called "elective accelerators" will each get some of the £160 million as well as extra support for new ways to increase the number of elective operations, NHS England said.
Tens of thousands of patients in the trial areas will be part of initiatives including a high-volume cataract service, one-stop testing facilities and pop-up clinics to allow patients to be seen and discharged closer to home.
Other trials over the next three months include virtual wards and home assessments, 3D eye scanners, at-home antibiotic kits, "pre-hab" for patients ahead of surgery, artificial intelligence in GP surgeries and so-called "Super Saturday" clinics, bringing multi-disciplinary teams together at the weekend to offer more specialist appointments.
What is happening in the south-west?
Cornwall and Devon's coronavirus hospital is being transformed into a diagnostic testing centre.
The Exeter Nightingale was set up to deal with a surge in Covid cases in the south-west.
Now it will become an accelerator site as part of the £160 million drive to help the NHS recover from the pandemic,
Virtual wards are being created too, which mean patients can be seen from the comfort of their own homes.
"Devon ICS is repurposing the Exeter Nightingale to perform diagnostic tests and patients in the south-west will also benefit from the extension of virtual wards so patients can receive medical support from the comfort of their home, freeing up beds in the process so more patients can be admitted to receive elective care".
NHS England
Amanda Pritchard, NHS Chief Operating Officer, said: "Treating around 400,000 Covid patients over the past year has inevitably had a knock-on effect on non-urgent care, but our incredible staff still managed to perform more than two million operations and other treatments in the first two months of this year when the hospitals were at their busiest with Covid patients.
"With Covid cases in hospitals now significantly reducing thanks to the extraordinary success of the NHS vaccination programme, our focus is now on rapidly recovering routine services.
"Early figures show local teams are already well ahead of schedule, but we want to go further, faster which is why we are investing £160 million to find new ways to tackle waiting lists.
"The additional support announced today will help us create a blueprint for continuing that progress over summer and beyond, in a way that doesn't heap extra pressure on staff, so that as many people as possible benefit from the world-class care the NHS provides".
Amanda Pritchard, NHS Chief Operating Officer