EARLY ONE MORNING.........................
Cllr Alan Dean
Liberal Democrat Councillor for Stansted North on Uttlesford District Council and former Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group Learn more
A DISHONEST COUNCIL IN DECLINE, A CHINK OF COMPASSION TINGED WITH AUTHORITARIAN RULE (PART I OF III)
AIRPORT PLANNING DEBACLE CONTINUED - WITH £££££ STILL TO PAY
EARLY ONE MORNING.........................
A DISHONEST COUNCIL IN DECLINE, A CHINK OF COMPASSION TINGED WITH AUTHORITARIAN RULE (PART I OF III)
AIRPORT PLANNING DEBACLE CONTINUED - WITH £££££ STILL TO PAY
West Essex NHS Waiting Times Below Par
by Alan Dean on 19 November, 2011
West Essex NHS - Yellow Coded Area NE of London
NHS waiting times in the West Essex PCT area are joint lowest in the East of England. Our primary care trust area is shown in the map to the right – the yellow, north-south strip to the north east of London.
All surrounding areas perform better for patients on the 18-week waiting time measure.
The key in the chart below shows that between 10% and 12.4% of people in West Essex are waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment. This compares with fewer than 5% of people in Suffolk.
The coaltion government has hown renewed interest in this measure after it
Key to waiting times across all England.
deteriorated in the past year. Andrew Lansley wanted to scrap measures such as this one in favour of measuring clinical outcomes for people. There is a strong case for saying that simple measures about the time taken to perform specific processes hide what matters to patients such as how well they are cared for and whether they are shown respect.
The same goes for councils and, for instance, how well they administer the benefits system. I shall have more to say about benefits payment performance in due course.
(Thanks to The Guardian for the charts.)
2 Comments
Take a look at the performance of Stansted Surgery; it’s among the worst in the PCT for appointment availability and satisfaction with GPs. I hope that there is an open tender for the practice that will take over the new health centre, when/if it is ever built.
The PCT’s performance stats are available here: http://www.gp-patient.co.uk/results/results/pct/search/?code=5PV
An example: Very/fairly satisfied with standard of care: England 90%, West Essex 89%, Stansted 84% (the worst in Uttlesford). Of 42 practices in West Essex, it comes 33rd in this category. In terms of opening hours, it has the second worst satisfaction level in the PCT, the fifth worst in terms of satisfaction with the amount of time a doctor gives, eighth worst in satisfaction with the doctor’s ability to listen to patients and second worst satisfaction rate (just 58%) for the doctor’s ability to involve the patient in decisions about care.
This is not simply about lack of resources, although the level of patients per GP on the Stansted Surgery register is the equivalent of levels typical of India (one per 2,200) and well below the EU average of one per 430. But few dare to speak up because they are scared that this may impact unfavourably on their care. I’ve come across plenty of anecdotal evidence of the rudeness and indifference of one or two Stansted GPs. Let’s hope the new health centre leads to a new start and better care.