Harnessing technology to clear the surgical backlog

Statistics published by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) in May 2021 describe the longest ever waiting list in Wales since records began in 2011. In excess of 600,000 patients have been waiting for planned treatment since March 2021, including for surgeries such as hip and knee replacements, post-mastectomy breast reconstructions and ear, nose and throat operations, described as ‘high volume, low complexity’ cases. As indicated in the Paving the Road to Recovery Report by the RCS there are 620,000 patients waiting for orthopaedic surgery. Closely behind is ophthalmology with 511,000 people waiting, general surgery with 406,000, otolaryngology with 385,000 and gynaecology with 374,000

It is estimated that over 216,000 patients have waited more than nine months for their treatment, highlighting the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Comparing these figures to the same time last year for March 2020 showed 28,294 people in Wales waiting more than nine months for treatment.

There is light at the end of the tunnel as the lockdown measures have now eased and restrictions have been lifted. This has allowed health boards to resume elective surgeries and start the process of working through the backlog. The adoption of digital solutions could be the saving grace to help effectively manage the backlog, enabling elective surgery to return to pre COVID capacity. Many Health Boards in Wales have fully embraced digital solutions since the start of the pandemic to facilitate normal working for members of staff. By efficiently harnessing the full capabilities of a digital data-driven solution to manage waiting lists, maximise operating theatre capacity and conduct digital pre-operative assessments in a COVID safe environment. to reduce the backlog, as this evaluates if patients are fit and ready for elective surgery. A robust digital POA solution allows clinical teams to reevaluate and re-prioritise patients according to their medical needs. A conventional pre-operative assessment that is paper based can often be difficult to streamline and coordinate if the patient has a complex medical history and needs further tests and investigations which may be requested by anaesthetic teams. With a digital pre-operative assessment solution, these complexities can be minimised, and a greater level of collaboration is created supporting perioperative teams to manage the waiting list backlog. Digital POA ensures that at each stage of the assessment and follow-up any number of clinical tests may be administered, medications prescribed or stopped, and exercises recommended. Such interventions typically require coordination between a range of healthcare professionals, from doctors and nurses, to pharmacists and physiotherapists. A digital POA solution places the patient-clinician relationship at the centre of a smart, accessible software platform ensuring that all the information needed to carry out each step successfully is always available making the patient fit for surgery, resulting in numbers decreasing with waiting lists. To tackle the waiting list backlog and for elective surgery to return back to pre COVID levels, health boards must embrace technology and take advantage of digital solutions.

For more information on how the team at Open Medical can help your health boards tackle the surgical backlog through our digital pre-operative assessment software There is a huge opportunity for healthcare please email info@openmedical.co.uk or providers to achieve digital transformation book a demo by embracing technology and implementing solutions to help manage the waiting list backlog. Digital Pre-Operative Assessments (POA) are a critical part of the entire perioperative process and an important aspect in helping www.openmedical.co.uk