WALTHAM FOREST: GP waiting time targets missed (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

WALTHAM FOREST: GP waiting time targets missed

2:21pm Thursday 16th October 2008 in

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PATIENTS in Waltham Forest are waiting too long to see their GP, according to a healthcare watchdog.

The review also shows people who visit the A&E at Whipps Cross University Hospital are having to wait longer than they should.

A report by The Healthcare Commission on the performance of Waltham Forest Primary Care Trust (PCT) reveals that the trust has 'under achieved' in providing access to GPs.

Based on national targets, it has also failed in access to primary care professionals and reproductive services, and in meeting referral-to-treatment time milestones.

A&E patients wait on average longer than the government target of four hours.

The overall "experience" of the borough’s patients has seen a downturn from satisfactory in 2006-07, to poor in 2007-08.

Sir Ian Kennedy, the Commission's Chairman, said: "Three years into this assessment, the public are entitled to expect urgent action at trusts which are still performing poorly.

“The primary care sector has improved, but more is needed as this sector delivers 88 per cent of healthcare.

"Primary care trusts must redouble their efforts in areas such as access to GPs and the provision of choice.

Regionally, performance in most areas in England has improved but the NHS in London continues to face significant challenges."

Overall, the trust maintained its “quality of services”, which was rated as fair - the same as last time.

And its use of resources saw a slight improvement from weak last time, to fair this year.

Improvements were recorded in the treatment for drug users, and the early intervention in mental health services.

There was also good news for users and staff of Whipps Cross University Hospital, which saw an improvement in its quality services from fair in 2006-07, to good.

There were fewer cancelled operations, and an improvements in meeting the two-month GP “urgent referral” for cancer sufferers requiring treatment.

However, like last year, the hospital was graded as having a “weak” use of resources, and did not meet the standards for a “clean, well-designed environment”, which is attributed to the unsuitable Victorian buildings which are still in use.

Tony Phillips, campaigner for Keep Our NHS Public and Keep Whipps Cross Hospital Open, said: “It is an out of date building, so this is a reflection of that. It is great that there has been improvements, but for it to sustain it, it needs modernising. A bid for a new A&E building has been approved, but other bids have been rejected.

“There is a historical position where healthcare in Waltham Forest hasn’t been funded in relation to the population.

The hospital needs funding, not from Private Finance Initiative (PFI) projects but from the Government.”

The findings were published on Thursday following The Healthcare Commission’s third annual health check, after assessing 391 NHS trusts in England on their quality of service and use of resources.

The assessment incorporates thousands of items of data related to performance, information from patients and the public, and inspections targeted at one in five trusts.

Factors that were taken into consideration for the overall grading included safety, waiting times, infection control and health outcomes. The Commission rates each trust as "excellent", "good", "fair" or "weak" - on both its quality of services and use of resources.

A spokeswoman for NHS Waltham Forest said it has been working with the GP practices to improve access to GPs and Primary Care Professionals.

She said: “As a result of this, a number of practices in the borough are now offering early mornings, late evenings and Saturday morning clinics.

"Across Waltham Forest there are now 594 more GP appointments available and 150 additional Primary Care Professional appointments compared to this time last year.”

She said they have reviewed their care for older people with mental health issues and are improving services by offering an improved range of services for patients and funding an extra worker in the older people psychiatric liaison services at Whipps Cross University Hospital to reduce “inappropriate admission”.

She added that as a result of patients registering a “poor” experience of service, the PCT has drawn up an action plan for improvements, including carrying out an independent check on cleanliness of all public areas of GP practices and other PCT clinics.

Chief executive of NHS Waltham Forest Sally Gorham said: “We are delighted that we have been rated as fair for use of resources. This reflects a huge amount of team work across the PCT to manage our resources better, and secure much needed investment in local health services in Waltham Forest.”

Chair of NHS Waltham Forest Cllr Afzal Akram said: “I know that people want good local services, and to know we are providing value for money. The Healthcare Commission rating is a useful way of comparing us with other organisations, and it is good to know we are making steady progress, but what matters is that the service in Waltham Forest is as good as we can make it for local people.”