Patient access to medical technology fares worse in the South

A report by the Medical Technology Group reveals huge regional variation in waiting times and access to medical technology.

Patients in the south of England are waiting longer to access vital medical treatments such as pacemakers, cataract surgery, and hip and knee replacements than those in the North, the study reveals.

The report examined data from all 209 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) from across England to find out how effective they are at giving patients access to medical technology. It found that nine out of the ten CCGs that performed worse when measured against the NHS 18-week ‘referral to treatment’ target were in the South.

Rapid treatment of stroke patients, using technology such as mechanical thrombectomies, can also make the difference between life and death. The NHS recommends that patients are admitted to a specialist stroke unit with four hours of arrival at hospital. However, analysis of data from the Atlas of Variation found a vast range, from over eight out of ten patients being seen within this time (84.5 per cent) in Hillingdon to just a fifth (21 per cent) in Wyre Forest.

Chair of the MTG, Barbara Harpham, said, “Delivering high quality healthcare, no matter where you live, is one of the fundamental principles of the NHS. But budget cuts and rationing is having a huge impact on the service patients receive, and the outcome they can expect.

“This enormous north-south divide can’t simply be explained by the regional differences in populations. There is an unprecedented strain on the health service and patients are not being given equal access to the treatment – and most importantly – the technology they need.

Harpham added, “Quicker and better access to medical technology can save the NHS money in the long term, by avoiding complications and additional treatment, and by getting patients out of hospital and back to work and into the community. It’s time to reassess how medical technology is commissioned and to call these underperforming health services to account.”