Patients offered chance to travel for quicker treatment
This press release describes how hundreds of thousands of patients waiting over 40 weeks for elective care appointments will be proactively contacted about travelling to another hospital for quicker treatment.
What does this really mean for patients?
On the face of it this policy sounds promising, and Healthwatch England knows from their own research that some patients are happy travel for quicker care. However - the key caveat to Healthwatch England's research, was that many patients can only travel if transport costs are covered. And they know from their cost of living work that the cost of travel has led too many to avoid appointments altogether.
This is why Healthwatch England has called for travel and accommodation costs to be covered by the NHS
What next?
Healthwatch England has contacted NHS England to share their position, and will be speaking to various teams to flag further concerns.
These include that the policy itself creates inequalities:
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Too many patients on long NHS waiting lists will be excluded from this offer due to cost
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The policy itself creates a two-tier NHS system based on what people can and cannot afford
And that even in it's current form, the policy may not be able to help people struggling financially:
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Without NHSE funding, some ICBs may not direct patients through the Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme (HTCS) for reimbursement
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HTCS criteria are too strict to help everyone struggling financially
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Awareness of the HTCS is low among the public, and uptake even lower
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Reimbursement through HTCS currently takes up to 90 days, and following a pause to the review - work can't progress to get this down to 'days', as described in the NEPTS review report
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Too many patients face last-minute cancellations - how can trusts guarantee this won't happen when patients pay out of their pocket to travel out of area?
Healthwtach England's response
"Many patients facing long waits for care will welcome the news that they can now choose to travel for treatment if it means they will be seen sooner.
“However, without support from the NHS with transport and accommodation costs, this solution will only help those who can afford to travel for faster care.
"Record numbers of people are currently stuck on NHS waiting lists, and our research has repeatedly highlighted the impact long waits have on patients, particularly people from groups facing health inequalities, including people on lower incomes.
"People have also told us that they would welcome the opportunity to travel to receive care more quickly, as long as any additional costs incurred would be covered.
"We have called for support to improve people's experiences of waiting for NHS treatment, such as improving communications between patients and their care teams and offering support to people while they wait, including support or signposting to help for their mental health.
"We’re now calling on NHS England and Integrated Care Boards to work together to ensure everyone choosing to travel for faster treatment is given support, including with the costs of transport and accommodation – as described in the Elective Recovery Plan. Otherwise, this option risks deepening health inequalities by only providing solutions to people who can afford to contribute towards the additional costs of travel”.
Louise Ansari, Chief Executive, Healthwatch England
