Key Performance Indicators - Secondary Health Care Contract

KPIs report shows more patients treated but ongoing challenges with waiting time targets

Thousands more patients were cared for by Guernsey's secondary healthcare services in 2023 than in 2022 but with more and more patients being referred for diagnosis and treatment, waiting times for non-urgent care continue to be a challenge.

The new figures are contained in the 2023 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) report, published today by Health & Social Care (HSC) and the Medical Specialist Group (MSG).

Inpatient admissions went up to 15,601 in 2023, an increase of 1,142 patients, or 7.9% on 2022. There were 20,998 new outpatient referrals, an increase of 1,128, or 5.7%. And theatre activity also increased with an extra 319 patients, taking the total number of procedures to 4,640, an increase of 7.4%. This data highlights the increasing demand for care that HSC and the MSG must provide.

The report shows that despite the increased numbers of patients treated, important quality indicators such as length of stay, unplanned returns to theatre and emergency readmissions are all above target.

Waiting times are below target but stable, with just over two in three (68%) of all non-urgent patients seen within the eight-week target compared with 71% in 2022. However, 84% of patients were seen within three months and almost all (94%) within six months of referral.

The specialities with the longest waiting times continue to be gastroenterology and orthopaedics, despite the success of two waiting list initiatives in 2023. An extra 508 patients had an endoscopy as a result of HSC appointing Medinet to carry out nine weekend clinics during the summer.And we have seen an overall reduction of 22% in cancelled orthopaedic operations since we opened the de Haviland ward with its dedicated orthopaedic beds. Indeed there was an 88% reduction in cancellations due to unavailability of beds, meaning that 462 patients were able to have their bone or joint surgery during the year.

Waiting times for radiology are above target with 96% of patients getting an x-ray or scan within six weeks of referral, and a report on that scan being delivered within eight weeks of referral.

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