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The BBC launched its NHS Tracker almost two years ago. It was the largest data project of this kind that we have ever done.
Since then, he has been providing the public with up-to-date information on waiting times for emergency and relief units, cancer and routine operations wherever they live in the UK – and provides us with also an overview of media coverage of the health service. . Last year, it was expanded to include mental health therapy.
But with the British government testing a new set of goals, the time has come to suspend it. For the moment at least.
So what did we learn from the beginning?
Things are getting worse
The three hospital measures on which the BBC concentrates are the NHS's most prominent targets.
The way they are measured in each UK country varies, especially for cancer and routine operations.
But in each case they were asked to expand the health service and encourage it to provide prompt care to patients who needed it.
As a result, goals have never been achieved all the time.
But for the first time since their introduction more than ten years ago, we have had a period of twelve months without any part of the United Kingdom fulfilling the objectives.
This milestone was pbaded last year.
And the situation has continued every month since.
The reasons for the NHS's difficulties are diverse.
But essentially, the demand for care has outstripped the supply of money and, therefore, the staff.
It was a record period for A & Es
It's not just the fact that the goals were missed that caused concern, it's also the margin of failure.
Four times in the last 18 months, the performance in England has dropped to a new record.
The target was introduced in 2004 in England.
Initially, units had to see and treat or admit 98% of patients within four hours.
This was then reduced to 95%
But over the last two winters, all of the country's hospitals have struggled to stay above 85%.
The record was reached in February of this year, when only 84.2% of patients had been seen in four hours.
Luton is simply the best
However, some local services go against the national trend.
At some point during the winter, only three individual hospital services reached target A & E.
One of these was the NHS Trust of Luton and Dunstable Hospital. This is the only service to consistently achieve the ME and cancer control goals. In fact, for the duration of the follow-up project, he has never missed either.
And the latest figures show that it is quite feasible to reach the 18-week target for routine operations, such as knee and hip replacements.
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One factor in his favor is that it is a medium-sized trust.
Larger hospitals act as regional centers and therefore host the most complex patients, which can make goals more difficult to achieve.
But Luton has undoubtedly introduced a number of measures that have worked – and are followed by others.
This trust was at the forefront of the inclusion of general practitioners in counseling services, which is now a national policy, as it helps to treat patients who arrive with relatively minor conditions.
It also has an ultramodern operations center – fully digitized – that allows managers to control the busy beds and the length of time patients wait.
This helps patients continue to flow through the system – and when bottlenecks are created, they can be identified and treated quickly.
There has been a marked deterioration in waiting times for cancer
Of all the targets, perhaps the most disturbing deterioration is that of cancer.
How long patients wait for their treatment is vital.
Hospitals are expected to begin treatment within 62 days of urgent referral in 85% of cases.
Five years ago, 92 NHS trusts in England achieved this goal – but in the past year, that number has dropped to 37.
Some services saw their performance deteriorate significantly – in the case of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells, a drop of 26 percentage points.
- The worst places for cancer care are waiting to be revealed
Wales and Northern Ireland are worse
But the struggles in England are not as big as in Northern Ireland and Wales.
Neither has reached a target for at least five years.
The magnitude of the failure – certainly in terms of A & E – far exceeds England and Scotland.
In Wales, less than 80% of patients are seen in four hours.
In Northern Ireland this figure is below 70%.
Northern Ireland also has a worse record on cancer.
Currently, just over 60% of patients are seen in 62 days.
Officials there said that there was little chance of significant improvement in the near future.
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