Challenge of boosting treatment by a fifth to cut NHS backlog could be ‘huge incentive to innovators’

New analysis indicating that healthcare treatment needs to be boosted by a fifth to eliminate COVID backlogs could represent ‘a huge incentive to ambitious innovators’, insists an NHS Scotland partner. 

Researchers believe that the Scottish health service must aim to treat at least 20 per cent more non-emergency hospital cases over the next three years in order to return to pre-pandemic levels.

Experts from the Universities of Edinburgh, Strathclyde, and Oxford suggest in their Scotland-wide study – published in The Lancet – that successfully targeting an additional 32,300 cases per year by the end of 2026 could clear the COVID-19-related backlogs.

Formal NHS Scotland partner InnoScot Health insists that helping to accelerate workforce-led innovation represents a key facet in meeting that challenge, aligning with the study’s suggestion of adopting “broader system-level strategies” in tandem with additional capacity.

Regulatory Project Manager Paula Sweeten insists that it’s “a sizeable ambition, but an achievable one too if supported by incisive decision-making and the right encouragement of impactful innovation”.

She said: “We believe that inspiring and supporting the 180,000-strong NHS Scotland workforce to innovate in a major way can help to make the required difference to waiting lists which were significantly exacerbated by the pandemic.

“Indeed, this new research states that referrals waiting to receive non-urgent treatment rose by a huge 73 per cent over the four years from 2019 as services were placed under tremendous strain.

“Overcoming that legacy of having to focus health service resource on COVID-19 for successive years remains a massive challenge of course – and we need to be realistic about what can be achieved with current investment in Scotland – but innovation opportunities are undoubtedly part of the solution.

“Those working within NHS Scotland are well-placed to identify those opportunities, leveraging not only the daily insights of individuals who are closest to challenges, but the vast collective experience and knowledge across every health board to establish more efficient, forward-looking practices.”

Researchers found that the medical specialties where most patients waited more than 12 weeks for both inpatient and outpatient appointments were Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT), General Surgery, Gynaecology, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, and Urology. 

InnoScot Health has seen a growing number of innovations submitted by health and social care staff in the fields of gynaecology and surgery, and insists that the workforce is an important driver of not just adopting new innovations, but coming up with those initial ideas themselves. 

Study lead, Dr Syed Ahmar Shah of the University of Edinburgh’s Usher Institute, noted that NHS Scotland requires “a holistic approach, including system-wide strategies like better demand management, prioritising cases by clinical urgency, and improving overall efficiency”.

A multifaceted approach is needed, the researchers concluded, combining capacity increases with other measures including improvement of waiting list management, promotion of preventive healthcare, and workforce strategies aimed at recruitment and retention. 

Digital health solutions such as telemedicine may help to manage less urgent cases, while innovative scheduling practices could optimise resource use, they noted.

Dr Shah added that there is a need “to set realistic recovery plans and ensure adequate funding for their implementation”.

Paula continued: “InnoScot Health believes improved collaboration across the Scottish system, with empowered innovators at its heart, is vital in the push for more efficient approaches and smarter use of resource.

“We consider that to be a huge incentive to many of NHS Scotland’s most entrepreneurial-minded, ambitious innovators who have ideas to share and are keen to spearhead sweeping change.

“This country was founded on groundbreaking ideas, and our organisation is committed to ensuring dynamic healthcare innovation is very much to the fore at this vital time of transformation. 

“By uniting our accelerative expertise with the workforce ideas and delivering real value from healthcare innovation, we can collectively aim to improve patient outcomes while finding tailored solutions to optimise clinical time as part of a more sustainable NHS Scotland.”