ENT UK releases new guidance for outpatient clinics

17 December 2024

To address the mounting pressures ENT outpatient clinics face across the UK, ENT UK has published a comprehensive set of guidelines aimed at enhancing service efficiency while ensuring patient safety. The guidelines respond to an increasingly complex healthcare landscape characterised by rising referral numbers, prolonged waiting times, and patients with multifaceted health needs.
 
The new guidance includes specific recommendations on the number of patients that can be safely accommodated during clinic sessions, taking into account factors such as available equipment, robust IT systems, and the presence of support staff. The recommendations emphasize the urgent need for a long-term workforce strategy to tackle the existing backlog of referrals. The guidelines also specify the minimum required standards for rooms and equipment for a clinic to operate safely.
 
Key recommendations in the guidance include:

• A Minimum Requirements Guidance for ENT outpatients, outlining the minimum equipment, administrative and nursing staff required for a clinic to operate safely and effectively. It also recommends the maximum number of patients that can safely be seen in a single session in clinics that lack some of these requirements – particularly in the case of clinics which lack support staff.
• A recommended maximum number of 12 patients in a 4 hour clinic session, where the clinic is also staffed with a receptionist, one nurse per doctor and supported by a secretary or typist.
• Guidance on adjusting the number of patients in a session to accommodate for supervision for StR, SAS, MTI, Core/ Foundation.
• Guidance on adjusting the number of patients to accommodate for consultants needing to complete PROMS and/or further administrative tasks such as contemporaneous consenting.

The guidance underscores the importance of having sufficient administrative and support staff to improve efficiency in clinic. When surveyed, many doctors said they were handling tasks such as dictating and writing letters, managing referrals, cleaning scopes, and room setup, which significantly reduced the time they could see patients. These tasks could be assigned to administrative or support staff, freeing up valuable time for consultants to see more patients and alleviating waiting times. The guidance also addresses the impact of electronic tasks on patient appointments, which can consume anywhere from 5 to 16 minutes per patient, significantly reducing face-to-face time. ENT UK’s new guidance aims to navigate these challenges by advocating for increased investment in technological infrastructure and administrative staff, ultimately allowing healthcare professionals to focus more on patient care.
 
As the healthcare sector continues to evolve, these guidelines serve as a critical roadmap for ensuring that patient care remains at the forefront while addressing the operational hurdles faced by ENT clinics across the UK. Read the full guidance here.