Alan Wilson, Managing Director
NHS waiting times have been making the headlines once again over the past few weeks, with Sajid Javid claiming that the NHS backlog in England could reach 13m.
Stark reports show that NHS waiting lists are at a record high, with current figures showing that more than 5.3m people are currently awaiting non-urgent surgical treatment.
Further to this, nearly one in three hospitals have seen wait times increase, with more than 10 per cent of patients going a year without treatment. Cancer services have suffered significantly, with some hospitals struggling to meet the target treatment times of two months. The NHS needs significant support to respond to and solve this backlog.
New and forward-thinking solutions are needed
We’ve seen key decision makers iembracing new, innovative solutions in response to this crisis, and Modular Methods of Construction (MMC) is a big part of this, with modular construction being employed to help speed up the delivery of up to 40 new hospitals.
From our work with NHS Trusts up and down the UK, we have already seen the addedbenefits from Modern Methods of Construction (MMC). At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was great to see modular construction come into its own through the quick delivery of the Nightingale hospitals. This goes to show the potential benefits modular construction could provide to help solve mounting NHS capacity issues.
Surgery hubs
In May 2021, the Royal College of Surgeons called for a new deal for surgery, which would involve an injection of funds of 1bn every year for the next five years to reduce what experts are calling a colossal elective surgery backlog.
The thought process around this new, 12-point plan is that these hubs will be added to existing hospital sites but remain an infection-free zone should there be further ramifications of COVID-19, another pandemic or severe winter or flu pressures in the future.
The introduction of these hubs would allow for certain facilities or even entire hospitals to be specified for various elective procedures within COVID-secure environments, mitigating the risk of surgical treatments once more grounding to a halt.
Using MMC to tackle capacity issues
We have already discussed the benefits of using Modern Methods of Construction within the healthcare sector to combat capacity issues, and we believe it has a vital role to play in the call for surgery hubs.
Modular buildings are constructed offsite in a secure and controlled factory environment where they are checked for snagging before being installed on-site within a matter of weeks. That speed of delivery is a critical factor as it means the NHS can begin to tackle the backlog of procedures far quicker.
In collaboration with our manufacturing partner, ModuleCo, we’re confident that our state-of-the-art modular facilities are developed to the highest standards and are compliant with NHS guidance around infection control and regulated airflow, providing secure surgical environments
The added beauty is that these facilities can be reusable and relocatable, which means they can be used to serve various NHS Trusts or different departments within their lifetime.
A key consideration for the NHS at the moment is also cost. Any solutions must fall within government budgets as we continue to recover from the financial implications of the pandemic.
Flexible Hire solutions are proving to be an attractive option for public sector services at the moment, as they allow for accurate economic forecasting and also eradicate the need to part with significant capital upfront. We know how important it is for the key decision-makers in NHS Trusts to have those options on the table.
Next steps
It’s safe to say that NHS decision-makers will need to act fast to implement a time and cost-effective solution, and it will be interesting to monitor the response to this call for a new deal for surgeries, and whether the government can commit to allocating 1bn a year for the next five years to facilitate the points laid out in the plan.
For the past twelve months, our team at ModuleCo Healthcare have been highlighting the capacity issues faced by the NHS, but there’s no denying that the situation is now reaching its peak.
Innovative construction and hire solutions should be sought to develop a sustainable response to mounting NHS pressures while also ensuring the future resilience of NHS Trusts up and down the country.
We’d love to discuss the topic in more detail and explain more about how both our modular facilities and flexible finance options could benefit our NHS. Get in touch with a member of our team via sales@healthcarehire.co.uk
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