Outpatient services need modernising to reduce waiting lists, says report

NHS outpatient care is “archaic, disjointed, and inefficient” and needs radical reform to bring down waiting lists, the Royal College of Physicians and the Patients Association have said.1

The two organisations said in a joint report that the current approach to providing planned clinical investigations, tests, treatments, and diagnoses confuses patients trying to navigate services and is riven by delays, poor communication, missed appointments, and poorly targeted follow-up care. They said that outpatient care should be more personalised and innovative, geared to prevention and early intervention, and use data and technology more effectively to prioritise patients’ needs.

The report said, “A significant cultural shift will be needed to move …