Management of follow up outpatients across Wales
Management of follow up outpatients across Wales
The Auditor General for Wales published his report, Management of follow up outpatients across Wales, on 31 October 2018.
A follow-up appointment is one that follows an initial attendance to outpatients. The reasons for a follow-up appointment include (but are not limited to) a review after surgery, management or maintenance of chronic conditions, or monitoring for signs of deterioration, prior to intervention.
As a result of growing national concerns relating to the management of follow-up outpatients, the Auditor General has undertaken initial and follow-up reviews at each health board in Wales over recent years to help define the extent of the challenges being faced and the progress that has been made in addressing them.
This report summarises the progress made by health boards since the Auditor General’s initial 2015-16 review; national arrangements to improve the management and performance of follow-up outpatients and changes in the waiting list, including the volume of patients waiting on the follow-up outpatient waiting list and those experiencing a delay.
The Report found that health boards have made some progress in response to recommendations made by the Auditor General in 2015-16, but the pace and impact on reducing the backlog of delayed follow-up appointments is limited, with significant variations between specialties and health boards across Wales. The average number of patients on the follow-up waiting list has increased by 12% over the last 3 years, with the number of patients waiting twice as long as they should be.
The Public Accounts Committee considered the Report and undertook an inquiry during the spring and summer 2019 terms, publishing its findings in July 2019.
The Committee has regularly monitored the implementation of
the recommendations contained in its report and received regular updates from
the Welsh Government, the final one being in September 2020.
Evidence Session |
Date, Agenda and Minutes |
Transcript |
Video |
1. Cardiff & Vale University Health Board Len Richards Steve Curry Caroline Bird |
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2. Aneurin
Bevan University Health Board Judith Paget Dr Paul Buss Claire Birchall |
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3. RNIB Cymru Ansley Workman Elin Haf Edwards Gareth Davies |
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4. Welsh
Government Dr Andrew Goodall Simon Dean Dr Chris Jones |
Business type: Other
Status: Complete
First published: 07/11/2018
Documents
- Letter from the Welsh Government - 28 August 2020 PDF 1 MB
- Letter from the Welsh Government - 23 October 2019 PDF 300 KB
- Letter from the Committee Chair to the Welsh Government - 4 October 2019 PDF 139 KB
- Welsh Government Response to the Committee Report (PDF517KB) - 11 September 2019 PDF 517 KB
- Committee Report - July 2019 (PDF 480KB) PDF 481 KB
- Letter from the Welsh Government - 26 June 2019 PDF 313 KB
- British Medical Association response to Chair's letter - 10 May 2019 PDF 580 KB View as HTML (7) 34 KB
- Royal College of Physicians response to Chair's letter - 4 May 2019 PDF 751 KB
- Letter from the Committee Chair to Stakeholders - 9 April 2019 PDF 141 KB
- Welsh Government response to Report by Auditor General for Wales - November 2018 PDF 303 KB
- Auditor General for Wales Report - Management of follow up outpatients across Wales - October 2018 PDF 1 MB