Restoring the 18-week standard: how feasible is it?
Overview
The NHS Alliance's new quarterly gathering bringing together operational leaders from across the NHS to share learning, practical examples and peer insight on elective recovery and outpatient transformation.
Open to NHS Alliance members from acute, community, mental health, primary care and ICB organisations involved in elective care and operational delivery, including directors of operations, deputy directors, elective care leads, transformation leads, operational managers and other relevant colleagues.
The overall agenda and plan for each session has been shaped in partnership with members. Topics will include cross-system working, the primary–secondary care interface, pathway redesign, digital innovation and the operational conditions needed to deliver sustainable improvement.
In October the Health Foundation will publish new analysis of progress with delivery against the government's pledge to restore the 18-week standard, including updated projections of progress by the end of the parliament.
For our first session, speakers from the Health Foundation will present their latest findings with a view to discussing what factors have influenced performance trends since the general election, and what might enable faster progress in reducing elective waiting times.
Speakers
Tim Gardner
Tim Gardner is Deputy Director of Policy at the Health Foundation, where he leads work to analyse, understand and inform national health and social care policy in England. Since joining the Foundation in 2014, he has played a key role in shaping policy analysis on NHS performance, reform and the future direction of health and care services.
Before joining the Health Foundation, Tim spent more than a decade at the Department of Health and Social Care, working on NHS strategy, health and social care integration, and the government's response to the Francis Inquiry. He has also held roles at NHS England and NHS Improvement, as well as in children's social care policy at the Department for Education. He holds an MSc in Health Policy from Imperial College London.
Tom Prendergast
Tom Prendergast is a Principal Data Analyst and researcher with the Networked Data Lab at the Health Foundation. His work focuses on using linked data and advanced analytics to better understand health inequalities, service access and outcomes across the NHS. He has contributed to a range of analyses exploring issues such as elective care waiting times, population health and the relationship between housing and health.
Before joining the Health Foundation in 2023, Tom worked at the Office for National Statistics, where he specialised in health expenditure and public sector productivity statistics. His background combines analytical expertise with a strong understanding of how data can be used to inform health and care policy, helping national and local leaders make evidence-based decisions.