New research by the Health Foundation provides the first robust causal evidence that NHS surgical hubs increase treatment volumes and reduce the length of time patients spend in hospital. By delivering more operations in a shorter time, they could speed up efforts to tackle waiting lists
Surgical hubs are dedicated units within NHS trusts that aim to improve productivity, reduce cancelled operations and enable people to be discharged from hospital more quickly by ring-fencing staff and resources for planned surgery. There are currently 108 surgical hubs operating across the country, with a further 26 due to open by the end of 2025.
The research found:
- In their first year, the 31 trusts in England with newly opened hubs undertook 21.9% more high volume low complexity elective surgery (such as hip replacements and cataract removals) than they would have done without a hub. This amounts to around 29,000 more procedures than expected at these trusts during this time.
- In the year following the last COVID lockdown, the 23 trusts which had established a hub pre-pandemic undertook 11.2% more elective surgery (of all kinds) than they would have done without a hub. This amounts to around 51,000 more procedures than expected* at these trusts between April 2021 and March 2022.
As well as higher treatment volumes, the research found evidence of shorter stays in hospital, suggesting that hubs also have the potential to improve efficiency in elective care delivery.
In June this year, the waiting list stood at 7.6 million cases (6.4 million people), with 1.2 million cases waiting for elective surgery. Progress in reducing that number had stalled under the previous government. The new Labour government has made putting the NHS ‘back on its feet’ a priority and previously pledged within the first parliament most patients will start treatment within 18 weeks.
The Health Foundation’s research examined the impact of surgical hubs on the rate of operations carried out by NHS trusts, comparing those that had recently established a hub and those that had had a hub set up since before the pandemic, with what would have happened without hubs in place.
Charles Tallack, Director of Data Analytics at the Health Foundation said “With the waiting list in England standing at 7.6 million, 1 in 9 people are waiting for care they need – often with worry, pain or discomfort. It is therefore vital that we understand and implement the most effective ways of reducing the backlog of care. The NHS has sought to decrease waiting times by setting up surgical hubs to increase access to operations.
“Our research provides the first robust causal evidence that elective surgical hubs can significantly increase the number of patients treated and reduce the length of time they spend in hospital. With the new government having staked its credibility on tackling the NHS waiting list, our research suggests that surgical hubs could play an important role in helping to deliver on this.”
