In response to today’s interim report by NHS England on their clinically-led review of NHS access standards Professor Mike Griffin OBE, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd), said:
“It is clear that the introduction of the current access standards have had a beneficial impact on the timeliness of care given within England, including elective waiting times and waiting times in emergency departments. It is essential that we do not lower our standards due to political pressure and ensure that patients are at the heart of all of the decisions made.
“With changes in how services work, there will be clearly be a need to alter how we evaluate the effectiveness of these services to ensure that our patients receive timely care.
"It is logical therefore to introduce additional, complementary measures to ensure the metrics used measures the entire patient pathway.
“We believe that any potential changes to the 18-week referral to treatment access standards need to have further engagement from clinicians and patients. Only a truly collaborative approach including all Royal Colleges representing clinicians in England will result in measures that can have a positive impact upon patient care.“