Table 1: Outpatients, assessment and operations

Outpatient appointments

Definition

Number of outpatient attendances where the primary consultation began within 30 minutes of the appointment time, as a percentage of all outpatient attendances.

Period

1 January to 31 March 1996.

Source

Complete count or estimate based on a representative sample of patients attending outpatient clinics.

Notes

Sample or count covers all clinics where the patient can reasonably expect to have an individual timed appointment, whether led by a consultant, a nurse, or other professional such as a physiotherapist. Certain genito-urinary medicine clinics may be excluded to maintain patient confidentiality. Patients arriving without an appointment are not included. Those arriving late are not included if they arrived after the consultant was ready to see them. The appointment times sampled are those for the primary consultation; appointments for pre-tests are excluded. Figures presented are rounded to the nearest whole percentage point. If sampled, figure quoted is accurate to within 5 percentage points up or down.

One star means that less than 80 per cent of outpatients were seen within 30 minutes, two stars mean 80-84 per cent, three stars mean 85-89 per cent, four stars mean 90-94 per cent and five stars mean 95 per cent or more.

Accident and emergency

Definition

For each unit this is the number of patients seen and assessed by a medically qualified person within 5 minutes of their arrival at the A&E department(s), as a percentage of the total number arriving.

Period

1 January to 31 March 1996.

Source

Complete count or estimate based on a representative sample of patients arriving.

Notes

Figures presented are rounded to the nearest whole percentage point. If sampled, figure is accurate to within 5 percentage points up or down. Bold printing is used to distinguish results from Trusts or hospitals which provide an Accident and Emergency service with medical staff on site and intended to be open for 168 hours per week.

One star means that less than 80 per cent of patients were assessed within 5 minutes, two stars mean 80-84 per cent, three stars mean 85-89 per cent, four stars mean 90-94 per cent and five stars mean 95 per cent or more.

Operations cancelled

Definition

The number of patients admitted electively for their operation between 1 January and 31 March 1996 having suffered a last-minute cancellation and waited over a month for admission thereafter, plus the number who, at 31 March 1996, had not yet been admitted and treated, having suffered a last-minute cancellation and waited over a month thereafter.

Period

January to 31 March 1996.

Source

Complete count of records.

Notes

A last-minute cancellation is one made by the provider for non-medical reasons on the day of or after admission. If a patient is transferred between providers, cancellations by previous providers are included.

One star means that the standard was not met on 10 or more occasions, two stars mean 5-9 occasions, three stars mean 2-4 occasions, four stars mean that the standard was not met on one occasion, and five stars mean that the standard was always met.

Arrows are not applicable for these data.

Table 2: Day case surgery

Definition

For each procedure, the number of elective FCEs (finished consultant episodes, waiting list and booked) done on a day case basis, as a percentage of the total number of elective FCEs for that procedure.

Period

FCE completed between 1 April 1995 and 31 March 1996.

Source

Complete count from inpatient contract minimum dataset for elective admissions.

Notes

A day case episode is one which is planned to be and is completed within the same day it started. The percentages for a procedure are not presented where a unit has 30 or fewer FCEs for that procedure (indicated as + in the Tables). Figures presented are rounded to the nearest whole percentage point.

One star means that less than 20 per cent of patients were treated by day case surgery, two stars mean 20-29 per cent, three stars mean 30-39 per cent, four stars mean 40-49 per cent and five stars mean 50 per cent or more.

Table 3: Waiting times: % of outpatients seen within 13 or 26 weeks

Definition

For each of the selected specialties, the number of patients who, following written referral by a GP to a consultant, are seen within 13 or within 26 weeks of the date of receipt of the referral letter, as a percentage of the total number of such patients seen.

The all specialties figure represents the sum of appointments across all specialties in that Trust and not just those specialties for which figures are provided separately. The all specialties figure will usually be higher than the sum of the 14 selected specialties.

Period

Patients seen for their first outpatient appointment between 1 January and 31 March 1996.

Source

Complete count of outpatients seen for their first appointment, as on the central return QM08.

Notes

Waiting time is the difference in days between the date the GP's referral letter was received by the hospital or community unit and the date when the patient was seen at the outpatient clinic. For patients who refuse an appointment or who fail to attend, whether giving advance warning or not, the waiting time is the interval between the last missed appointment and the date when the patient was seen at the outpatient clinic. The percentage seen within 26 weeks includes those seen within 13 weeks. The percentages for a specialty are not presented where a unit has seen 30 or fewer written referrals to that specialty (indicated as + in the Tables). Figures presented are rounded to the nearest whole percentage point.

For outpatients getting an appointment within 13 weeks (Table 3a) one star means a score of less than 70 per cent, two stars mean 70-79 per cent, three stars mean 80-89 per cent, four stars mean 90-94 per cent and five stars mean 95 per cent or more.

For outpatients getting an appointment within 26 weeks (Table 3b) one star means a score of less than 90 per cent, two stars mean 90-94 per cent, three stars mean 95-97 per cent, four stars mean 98-99 per cent and five stars mean 100 per cent.

Table 4: Waiting times: % of patients admitted within 3 or 12 months

Definition

For each of the selected specialties, the number of NHS or amenity patients admitted electively (waiting list or booked, not planned) within 3 or within 12 months of the decision being made to admit, as a percentage of the total admitted electively to the specialty.

The all specialties figure represents the sum of elective admissions from all consultant led waiting lists in that Trust and not just those specialties for which figures are provided separately. The all specialties figure will usually be higher than the sum of the 14 selected specialties.

Period

First episode started between 1 April 1995 and 31 March 1996.

Source

Complete count from inpatient contract minimum dataset for elective admissions.

Notes

Waiting time is the difference in days between the date of admission and the date on which the decision to admit was made. This waiting time is not adjusted where patients refuse an offer of admission ('self-deferral'), or where they are suspended temporarily from the waiting list for medical reasons. This waiting time differs from that used to produce published waiting list statistics, which is adjusted for both self-deferral and medical suspension. Only the first episode of care is counted where there is more than one in the same spell in a provider. Only patients whose waiting time is one or more days are included. Those patients who waited 90 days or less are included under 'within 3 months' and those waiting 364 days or less under 'within 12 months'. The latter category includes those waiting under 3 months. The percentages for a specialty are not presented where a unit has 30 or fewer admissions to that specialty (indicated as + in the Tables). Figures presented are rounded to the nearest whole percentage point.

For patients admitted within 3 months (Table 4a) one star means a score of less than 50 per cent, two stars mean 50-59 per cent, three stars mean 60-69 per cent, four stars mean 70-79 per cent and five stars mean 80 per cent or more.

For patients admitted within 12 months (Table 4b) one star means a score of less than 85 per cent, two stars mean 85-89 per cent, three stars mean 90-94 per cent, four stars mean 95-98 per cent and five stars mean 99 or 100 per cent.

Table 5: Primary Care

GP practice charters

Definition

For each Health Authority, the number of GP practices in their area with a practice charter, as a percentage of the total number of GP practices in their area.

Period

Count taken on 31 March 1996.

Source

Complete count from FHSA records.

Notes

Only completed charters have been counted - charters under development have been excluded from the count.

The data are collected on the basis of FHSAs, but were translated into figures for HAs.

Star ratings and arrows are not applicable.

Vaccination and immunisation

Definition

For each Health Authority, the percentage of children reaching their second birthday between 1 October and 31 December 1995 who received a full course of immunisations by 31 December 1995.

Period

Position at 31 December 1995.

Source

Complete count as on return QMX4.

Notes

The figures are based on a full count of children registered with GP practices who had reached their second birthday between 1 October and 31 December 1995. A full course of immunisations represents three doses of diphtheria vaccine and an MMR vaccine. The figures, which were supplied by the Public Health Services Laboratories, have been rounded to the nearest whole percentage point.

The data are collected on the basis of DHAs, but were translated into figures for HAs.

Star ratings and arrows are not applicable.

Cervical cytology

Definition

For each Health Authority, the percentage of eligible women aged between 25 and 64 who had received an adequate cervical smear test in the previous 5-and-a-half years.

Period

Position at 31 December 1995.

Source

Complete count as on return QMX4.

Notes

The count includes all women aged between 25 and 64 at 31 December 1995 with the exception of women who have undergone hysterectomy operations. The count also includes women who have received smear tests which doctors decided were clinically inadequate. The figures have been rounded to the nearest whole percentage point.

The data are collected on the basis of Commissions, but were translated into figures for HAs.

Star ratings and arrows are not applicable.

Table 6: Ambulance service emergency (999) response times

Definition

Of those emergency calls which result in an ambulance arriving at the scene of an incident, the proportion where the ambulance arrives within set target times (14 minutes for urban authorities, 19 minutes for rural).

Period

1 April 1995 to 31 March 1996.

Source

Complete counts as on return KA34.

Notes

An emergency call is a 999 call requesting a response to an incident or sudden illness, a maternity admission requiring immediate emergency response, or other type of patient for whom an emergency procedure is necessary. Emergency response time is the time elapsed from receipt of an emergency call to the time of patient rendezvous of a vehicle and two fully trained crew. Calls which prove to be hoaxes once the ambulance arrives at the scene or where patient assistance is not needed after all are included, but calls aborted before arrival at the scene are not. Figures presented are rounded to the nearest tenth of a percentage point.

Star ratings and arrows do not apply to this table.