London Recovery and Improvement Plans – 2013/2014
In May 2013, NHS England set out plans to strengthen performance in urgent and emergency care to help hospital Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments meet demand and tackle waiting time pressures, including during the busy winter months.
As part of this, NHS England brought together healthcare leaders from different parts of the local NHS to form urgent care working groups, covering all A&E departments. These urgent care working groups ensured that Recovery and Improvement Plans were developed by all local health economies.
The Recovery and Improvement Plans set out how local health economies would ensure their A&Es provided fast and safe care, particularly over the busy winter period. They also set out how GPs, social care providers and community services could provide better out-of-hospital care for people with long-term conditions or non-life threatening but urgent care needs. These plans were then reviewed and assured by NHS England, Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority. The performance of each hospital continues to be monitored on a daily basis over the winter period.
In the long term, work is underway to reform all NHS services in order to meet the challenges of a growing and ageing population with more complex health needs.
The 2013/14 Recovery and Improvement Plans for all local health economies in London, with the exception of Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT), are available as web links from this page. The plans have also published by the Trusts/CCGs individually.
BHRUT faces significant challenges as reflected through the special measure arrangements which are currently in place. Given these measures, a broader improvement plan including urgent and emergency care, is required and is currently in development. NHS England continues to work with the NHS Trust Development Authority, CQC and local CCGs to closely monitor A&E services and support improvements at all sites in the health economy.