North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust has achieved significant progress in waiting list management and data quality following the implementation of the NHS Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP).

Transforming RTT pathway tracking

Referral to Treatment (RTT) pathways measure the time between a patient’s referral and the start of their treatment. NHS RTT targets, including an18-week target for non-emergency cases, help ensure patients receive timely access to necessary services.

Before June 2024, North Cumbria Integrated Care was able to track around 35% of its Patient Tracking List (PTL), with most patients being tracked only from 40 weeks onwards. Since adopting the RTT product in the NHS FDP, the tracking team can now validate the entire PTL within a 12-week cycle, meeting national guidance. The team has also increased weekly pathway validations from 1,700–2,500 to around 3,500–4,000, representing a significant rise in productivity.

The tool’s capabilities enable the team to:

• apply effective cohorting, allocating patients across services and trackers more efficiently
• address data quality issues before they escalate, preventing unexpected long-waiters
• prioritise fast-track cases, longest waiters, and previously unvalidated patient

This helps patients to be seen in a timely way and supports up to date communications to be sent to both the patient and health providers (for example, GPs) regarding the outcomes and any future care needs.

Boosting staff wellbeing

The tool has also helped facilitate better workload allocation, allowing the Tracking Team to focus on high-volume, low-complexity issues, while more complex pathway problems are reallocated to the Data Quality Team. This approach has supported improved staff wellbeing and motivation by providing a more varied and productive caseload.

Supporting timely care for patients

The number of pathway closures increased when the module went live, particularly for 7–12 week pathways, supporting more timely care for patients. As data quality continues to improve, the number of pathways being closed each month is stabilising, reflecting a more accurate and up-to-date PTL.

The RTT product is now established as a core operational tool at North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, supporting ongoing improvements in patient care and organisational performance.

Looking ahead

While these initial improvements have delivered measurable benefits, the trust continues to explore further enhancements, including additional alerts to strengthen data quality and operational performance.

Colin Holmes, head of planning and strategy at North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We’ve seen the benefits from the [NHS FDP] modules that we’ve rolled out to date and we’re looking to build on that. Our commitment as a trust is in relation to improving elective care, supporting elective recovery, reducing the amount of time that patients are waiting to receive their treatment and care…underpinning that with efficient information systems is a key part to that.”

Publication reference: PRN01464vi