Coming soon: our plan for a healthy future
Our hospitals are busier than ever and a record number of people are coming through our doors every day. The latest trust figures show we saw 10% more patients last year than in the previous twelve months – an average of about 7,250 every day.
That’s equivalent to seeing every week as many people as could fit into London’s biggest football stadium. It’s a tribute to the hard work and dedication of our talented staff during some very tough times.
But it also represents a challenge as we plan to further improve our offer to patients over the next 12 months. Hospital income doesn’t keep pace with extra activity, some of which would be better dealt with in community settings closer to home.
And like the rest of the NHS, we must live within our means and ensure we are as productive as possible. Our plans are about changing the way we do things so patients receive the right care in the right place at the right time.
The group operating plan for 2025/6 which we will publish next week builds on a foundation of 2.65 million patient episodes across our hospitals last year.
A record 579,000 people attended our emergency departments, a three per cent increase for an already highly pressured service. We admitted 270,000 inpatients, including day cases, a six per cent increase. Our maternity departments delivered over 14,000 babies.
These numbers reflect that our local population is among the fastest growing in the UK. The catchment of north east London is projected to grow by 18% over the next 20 years, an increase equivalent to half the residents of one borough.
Our biggest rise was in outpatient departments, where attendances increased 12 per cent to 1.8 million. This is where we want to focus most effort on transforming our services, to reduce waiting times and avoid missed appointments.
Maintaining quality remains central to our plans, which are tailored to the diversity of our local communities and the levels of deprivation faced in parts of our boroughs.
As Shane DeGaris, our group chief executive, says in his introduction: “To deliver we’ll need to draw on the expertise of our staff, maximise the benefits of our group model and collaborate effectively with our partners and communities.
“We should see this as an opportunity to transform care and solve longstanding issues – whether that’s the way patients access our outpatient services or enabling medically fit patients to leave hospital sooner.
"I’m proud of what we do together now and I’m excited for what we can achieve together in the future.”