HEE has worked with NHS England and NHS Improvement to develop an e-learning programme to support NHS staff to better understand demand and plan capacity so patients don’t have an unnecessary wait for treatment.

A shared understanding between providers and commissioners on demand, capacity, bottlenecks and constraints can help to:Understand the reasons why waiting lists grow

• Understand the reasons why waiting lists grow
• Model the required level of capacity to keep pace with demand
• Understand the gap between the required capacity and the current demand of a service
• Calculate the maximum waiting list sizes that are consistent with the clinical pathway milestones
• Model the impact of clearing excess waiting list sizes down to ideal maximum levels
• Identify potential inefficiencies
• Support better decision making around service changes
• Reduce waiting times for patients

This introductory course, which is free to access for NHS staff, provides a knowledge base around these topics using examples from elective care throughout the training.  For more information and to access the e-learning programme please visit e-Learning for Healthcare (e-LfH).