09/24 Vascular Urological Surgery Outsourcing

Provision of outsourced urological and vascular surgery.

The activity relates to carrying out surgery for patients who have been waiting for more than a year on the waiting lists of specific surgeons in the hospital. There is insufficient capacity in existing NHS core hours to carry out the surgery for these patients and so we are seeking additional capacity from outside of the NHS. The activity in scope of this outsourcing relates to specific surgeons who have practising privileges to operate privately at this particular Independent Sector Provider - Circle Meriden. The advantages of ensuring the continuity of the surgeon is that the patient will not require to be reviewed as an outpatient and will not require diagnostic tests to be repeated - this saves both time and money, as the patients have already been clinically worked up and have been li for surgery. It is also less demanding on the patient in terms of taking time out to attend repeat outpatient attendances - which in some cases can also involve invasive diagnostic investigations.

We are seeking similar outsourcing arrangements at other ISPs and for other pressured specialties where the same circumstances apply - the determining factors being continuity of carer for the patient, geographical proximity and transport links, and length of time that patients would be required to wait.