The NHS faces an almost existential challenge. How to slow, and then reverse, the growing number of patients waiting for healthcare. The patient waiting lists for elective secondary (hospital based) care are at an historical high approaching 8 million in 2024. There are about 1.6 million patients awaiting diagnostics tests. The waiting time for cancer patients to receive care have extended, with about 40% patients delayed beyond target treatment deadlines.
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These lists are unlikely to be eliminated for 3-5 years. The result of these problems: delayed diagnosis and treatment of many patients’ health problems – with resultant likely earlier and increased patient mortality, co-morbidities and, inevitably, patient pain and suffering - not to mention the adverse economic impacts..

Primary care (GPs), and both community and social care face similar challenges. Emergency care pressure is severe.

But, they are not the problem that the Match+ Digital Platform is designed to address.

8 million patients represents approximately 4 months of the entire NHS outpatient secondary care capacity – and a longer share of the NHS inpatient capacity, which is limited by overall fixed bed capacity. That capacity comprises hospitals and associated separate diagnostic clinics (including their clinical plant, equipment and consumables) and the required clinical (consultant and associate level doctors, doctors in training, nursing and allied health professionals) and ancillary (receptionists, janitors, security personnel) or management and administrative personnel.

Public funding constraints limit the capital available to increase physical capacity (hospitals, diagnostic clinics, and clinical plant or equipment). Even if this physical capacity could be increased, the long lead times (5-15 years)  required to increase the levels of clinical personnel make it difficult to increase actual clinical capacity in the near-medium term.

So, how can the NHS adapt or change to meet the challenge of solving the patient waiting lists problem?