Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust has delivered its strongest elective care performance since before the pandemic, significantly improving patient waiting times and reducing its overall waiting lists - landing the Trust amongst the top ten Trusts in the country for elective improvement.
The Trust increased the number of patients being treated within 18 weeks from 55% to 67% in 2025/26, representing an improvement of nearly 11% and the highest level achieved in recent years.
In the same year the Trust also reduced its overall waiting list by 14%, which is more than 7,000 patients, reversing post-pandemic growth and strengthening its position for further recovery.
Boosting access to care
A targeted national initiative to increase outpatient activity also led to additional capacity for patients, and in the final quarter of the year, the Trust delivered over 1,800 extra first outpatient appointments, ensuring that almost 2,000 patients were seen sooner than expected.
The Trust also made major strides in transforming outpatient care, introducing new approaches that improve access and reduce unnecessary follow-up appointments.
A key part of this has been the expansion of Patient-Initiated Follow-Ups (PIFU), which allows patients to arrange follow-up care when they need it rather than attending routine appointments. Over the past year, the use of these patient initiated follow ups has tripled, almost reaching the national target level set by NHS England. The approach helps to free up clinic capacity for new patients, reduce waiting times for first appointments, and as a result improve the overall patient experience.
Working with partners to deliver for patients
Over the last year the Trust has also worked closely with NHS and independent sector partners across Surrey and Sussex to expand its elective and diagnostic capacity and help reduce waiting times for local people awaiting treatment.
Trust Chief Executive, Andrew Hines, said: “Reducing elective and outpatient waiting times and treating more people sooner is one of our key priorities, and it's fantastic to be able to report such positive progress for local patients.
“Our teams have worked incredibly hard to deliver these results, while also transforming how we provide care — particularly in our outpatient services, where new ways of working and closer collaboration with our partners is helping us see more patients and improve access.
“While this year's improvements are a significant step forward, we recognise there is still more to do, especially in reducing the longest waits and improving our diagnostic performance. We have started the year with a strong momentum, and I look forward to seeing how we can build on this progress in the months ahead.”