Delayed Referrals to Treatment - Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust

The purpose of the review, and of the consequent report, was not to seek to apportion blame for the delays but to examine why they occurred, to be satisfied that adequate steps had been taken both to ameliorate their effects and to ensure that, so far as possible and practicable, appropriate steps had been taken to avoid their recurrence.

In the course of the review, the joint Topic Group interviewed representatives of the Barking, Havering and Redbridge (BHR) University Hospitals Trust, the BHR Clinical Commissioning Group, Havering Council's Adult Care Services, the North East London Foundation Health Trust (NELFT) and NHS Improvement (now NHS England).

The joint Topic Group recommended:

R1 That BHRUT review its Information Technology Governance arrangements to ensure that, in any future migration of patients’ data from one ICT system to another, robust steps are taken to ensure that the “loss” of data that occasioned the delays that have been the subject of this review are so far as possible avoided.
R2 That BHRUT and partners review their ICT systems to ensure that they are sufficiently compatible with each other to permit the free, secure exchange of patient data between them, and (so far as appropriate) to facilitate the secure exchange of patient data with GPs and other points of referral such as Polyclinics and Walk-in Centres
R3 That the CCGs review options in partnership with BHRUT to determine how demand, and in turn capacity, for elective referral activity is best modelled to optimise patient access and experience.
R4 That the CCGs work with GPs to develop procedures whereby, when a referral is made, it is followed up in a timely fashion to ensure that the patient is actually seen by the most relevant health care professional and treatment appropriate to their condition is arranged.

The detailed responses to those recommendations are set out in the report, available below.