National Voices was asked by NHS England and Improvement to explore the experience of waiting for care. We wanted to understand how waits, delays and cancellations impact on people and their families, particularly those living with long term and multiple conditions.
This insight work was commissioned as part of a review of care standards (waiting time targets) for elective care, in the winter before the Covid-19 outbreak. Currently people using the NHS have rights to treatment via the NHS Constitution and for many services there are waiting standards, including the 18 week waiting time for consultant-led treatment.
Read the report to find out the three steps for improving the experience of patients while they wait for elective services