Share your views: planned care in North West London

What is planned care?

Planned care, also known as elective care, refers to non-emergency healthcare services like hospital outpatient appointments or planned surgery. 

Most people access planned care by first visiting their GP who would evaluate their heath needs. If the GP determines that further support is required beyond this initial consultation, the patient will be referred for specialist care. This typically takes place at a hospital, where an appointment with a specialist will be arranged.

The NHS is committed to ensuring that patients receive the planned care they need as quickly as possible, aiming for patients to receive specialist care within 18 weeks of being referred by their GP. However, this standard is not currently being met nationally or in North West London due to reasons such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

What are the challenges of providing planned care?

A growing and ageing population means that people are living longer with complex health needs and an increasing number of people are being referred to planned care services. This is putting a strain on our current hospitals because waiting lists are getting significantly longer.  Additionally, there are disparities in access to care, with different groups of people being unable to access services as well as others.

The NHS wants to address all these challenges to improve patient experience and wellbeing by ensuring that everyone receives treatment in a timely and fair way.

How can planned care be improved?

Some of the priority areas that the NHS will focus on to improve planned care include:

• Having better access to a specialist which can include in GP clinics. This would allow patients to seek advice from a specialist sooner in their patient journey 
• Allowing patients to choose their hospital appointment times for a more personalised approach to care. This could involve people choosing their own slot from a list of those available
• Keeping patients updated while they wait for their first planned care appointment. For instance, this could mean receiving texts or emails from the hospital about where patients are on the waiting list
• Supporting patients with complex health needs by tailoring services to their specific needs. An example of this could be to offer patients a personalised preparation programme before they have surgery with key information such as a list of exercises that they should complete to improve fitness prior to the operation and to promote a smooth recovery after.
• Using digital technology to offer remote healthcare services, such as the ability to see a doctor through a video consultation. This could be quite useful for those who are working or have caring responsibilities. 

How can I get involved?

Between February 2025 and April 2025, the NHS will be speaking to residents and health professionals in North West London to understand their experiences of planned care, and how they think it could be improved.

You can share your feedback by filling in a short survey here.

You may also send any written comments to the NHS by emailing nhsnwl.communications.nwl@nhs.net