But calling wait lists pointless is also pointless.
This is going to be ultra pedantic but in case I was misunderstood: I’m saying that using wait times as a target is pointless. Obvs we do need wait lists themselves…
What would you propose as a method for measuring NHS effectivness.
First I know I’m not qualified in any way to answer this and there will be people with knowledge who can provide a far better answer. But if you do want my opinion then I’d say a reasonable place to start would be to simply ask the patient. The written answers will be subjective but you can collate all the [yes/no] answers together to see objective patterns of whether patient satisfaction is improving or getting worse.
How long were you waiting? [Number of weeks] (Would be very interesting to compare this subjective answer to the actual recorded data)
Was the wait time acceptable? [Yes/No/I don’t know]
-> Did your condition deteriorate as a result of the delay? [Yes/No/I don’t know]
-> How did you condition deteriorate? [Answer in as many words as you like, or possibly a tree of yes/no questions]
Did you receive treatment? [Yes/No/I don’t know]
-> Did the treatment improve your condition? [Yes/No/I don’t know]
-> Why didn’t the treatment help with your condition? [Answer in as many words as you like, or possibly a tree of yes/no questions]
Were you referred to another service? [Yes/No/I don’t know]
-> Do you agree with the decision to refer you elsewhere? [Yes/No/I don’t know]
-> Why don’t you believe the referral is correct? [Answer in as many words as you like, or possibly a tree of yes/no questions]
Overall how satisfied were you satisfied? [0-10]
-> How could we improve? [Answer in as many words as you like, or possibly a tree of yes/no questions]
This is going to be ultra pedantic but in case I was misunderstood: I’m saying that using wait times as a target is pointless. Obvs we do need wait lists themselves…
First I know I’m not qualified in any way to answer this and there will be people with knowledge who can provide a far better answer. But if you do want my opinion then I’d say a reasonable place to start would be to simply ask the patient. The written answers will be subjective but you can collate all the [yes/no] answers together to see objective patterns of whether patient satisfaction is improving or getting worse.
How long were you waiting? [Number of weeks] (Would be very interesting to compare this subjective answer to the actual recorded data)
Was the wait time acceptable? [Yes/No/I don’t know]
-> Did your condition deteriorate as a result of the delay? [Yes/No/I don’t know]
-> How did you condition deteriorate? [Answer in as many words as you like, or possibly a tree of yes/no questions]
Did you receive treatment? [Yes/No/I don’t know]
-> Did the treatment improve your condition? [Yes/No/I don’t know]
-> Why didn’t the treatment help with your condition? [Answer in as many words as you like, or possibly a tree of yes/no questions]
Were you referred to another service? [Yes/No/I don’t know]
-> Do you agree with the decision to refer you elsewhere? [Yes/No/I don’t know]
-> Why don’t you believe the referral is correct? [Answer in as many words as you like, or possibly a tree of yes/no questions]
Overall how satisfied were you satisfied? [0-10]
-> How could we improve? [Answer in as many words as you like, or possibly a tree of yes/no questions]