Hospitals in areas with the most people out of work because of ill health will be prioritised for expanding the high intensity theatre (HIT) model to reduce waiting lists for surgery, the government has announced.
The model,1 spearheaded by Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London, will be rolled out to 20 hospitals in the parts of the country with the highest rates of economic inactivity (see box) as part of a government drive to help more people get back to work.
The plans were announced by the health secretary, Wes Streeting, at Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool on 25 September. They follow a pledge by the prime minister, Keir Starmer, to expand this model throughout England to tackle a backlog of 7.6 million elective treatment procedures.
Clinicians from trusts already using the scheme will be deployed …
