Description
The recorded session features a dialogue primarily between Julian Owen, Tim Briggs, and various members of the audience, addressing critical issues in healthcare—specifically around quality improvement, challenges in emergency departments, and the operational difficulties faced under current healthcare systems.
Julian Owen introduces a question from an audience member (the clinical lead at a teaching hospital) who expresses concern about the justifications of their efforts to improve quality, questioning how to engage a CEO in discussions about serious systemic issues, such as long waiting times in A&E and ongoing failures in cancer treatment targets. Tim Briggs agrees and discusses his upcoming engagements with various healthcare trusts to facilitate accountable conversations around these pressing problems.
The audience raises various points about operational capacities, specifically the impact of COVID-19 protocols on surgical efficiency, detailing frustrations with backlogs and the inefficiencies caused by lengthy COVID swab procedures before elective surgeries. Despite some successes in mitigating risks in their own hospital's procedures, Tim acknowledges the challenges many face in different setups.
Towards the end, a participant calls for more systemic support, encouraging information sharing and collaboration among healthcare leads to tackle ongoing issues. Andrew Duckworth emphasizes the need for targeted strategies and feedback mechanisms within Musculoskeletal (MSK) health, highlighting opportunities for better coordination of resources and expertise across trusts.
The session closes with a commitment to ongoing collaboration and data sharing as a means to address underlying problems in healthcare delivery, with an invitation to further discuss these issues in upcoming board sessions.