Daily Insight: Elective battle’s new front

Several of the NHS’s largest trusts are yet to eradicate 78-week breaches but already much of NHS senior management focus is moving on to how to clear 65-week breaches by March. 

The official data, published by NHS England in its monthly statistics update, shows just over 95,000 patients waited longer than 65 weeks as of March.

The “glass half full” verdict is as follows: this figure has fallen significantly in recent months – down by a whopping 40 per cent from the 157,014 on the list six months prior in October.

A “glass half empty” response might be that much of this still represents a massive number of patients and that with several trusts still grappling to meet the 78-week target – around 10,000 18-month breaches remain on the list past the April deadline – it already feels likely the 65-week target will also need pushing back.

There will also be increasing pressure to get the overall waiting list falling as we fall into the flightpath of a likely general election in 2024. Getting the waiting list decreasing by 2024 is also one of the prime minister’s big five pledges.

While the list had been stuck on around 7.2 million, prompting hopes it had peaked and a descent was not too far away, it edged up to a new record high of 7.3 million between February and March.

So, come 2024, the NHS will be fighting on two elective fronts: bidding to eliminate long waiters (after 65 weeks, focus will shift to eliminating the nearly 400,000 52-week breaches by March 2025), but also trying to manage demand and capacity in a way which means the overall list begins shrinking too.

Mac the Knife retires from the sharp end

Nearly five decades and one “Mac the Knife” nickname later, an NHS boss has announced he will be retiring from the health service.

Anthony McKeever has held a string of senior leadership roles during a long career in the NHS.

He has most recently been CEO of Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board since overseeing its launch. Mr McKeever, known as “Mac”, will be leaving this role to take retirement at the end of the year.

Previous NHS roles include chief executive of Royal Shrewsbury Hospitals Trust and Bexley Care Trust.

It was, however, his stint as head of the government taskforce to cut waiting times which saw him earn his “Mac the Knife” nickname in the 1990s.

Mr McKeever also spent time as the private secretary for former health secretary Sir Len Peach.

Mid and South Essex ICB is now looking for a new chief executive to replace Mr McKeever. Its chair, Michael Thorne, has thanked the outgoing CEO for his “determination and hard work”.