Clinical Pathways

Programme leads

Prof Simon Constable

Senior Responsible Officer and Chief Executive, Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Sir David Henshaw

Chair Co-Sponsor

Valerie Davies

Chair Co-Sponsor

The Clinical Pathways Programme works through a structured and methodical process to assess the current state and identify, prioritise and implement opportunities for improvement for some of the key specialties to support longer term transformation.

Our objectives are to focus on the transformation of clinical pathways for the long term, improving resilience in smaller trusts, and ensuring that partnership working occurs where this will provide better outcomes and value for patients. Improvements will be delivered through a combination of system-led schemes, specialty clinical networks, and trust-level performance improvement initiatives.

We will achieve this via a three-stage approach:

Stage one: Current state assessment

Assessing current pathways, scope and flow, quality, activity, performance (clinical and financial) and workforce at an organisational & system level to provide a complete picture, identifying short term opportunities.

Stage two: Opportunities for improvement

Developing a vision for the service and agree principles. Combining detailed data analysis and best practice to identify operational and strategic opportunities at trust and system level.

Stage three: Prioritisation and evaluation of opportunities

Engaging stakeholders to appraise the opportunities identified to be taken forward as a more detailed options appraisal and working up the preferred option(s).

Phase one will focus on orthopaedics, ENT and dermatology. Further specialities identified as priorities are general surgery, urology, ophthalmology and gynaecology.

Programme portfolio

Prioritisation of services for review

Identifying those services with greatest need, longest waits, volume, risk, variation & inequality of access.

Current state assessment

Overarching case for change for the specialities, documented 'as is' clinical pathways identifying barriers, blocks, triggers, slow flow and other issues. Workshops with clinical teams to reach clinical and operational consensus on the case for change and key priorities.

Future state clinical models

Documented 'future' clinical model using local strategic aims and best practice as basis. Agreement on key priorities for focus. Development of strategic clinical networks to drive change and transformation.

Optimisation of services through a long-term clinical strategy

Within a robust clinical leadership network alongside integrated clinical and professional practice groups.

Links with other programmes across CMAST

Ensuring whole-pathway transformation across diagnostics, cancer pathways, workforce, finance and elective recovery and transformation.