The NHS has set out its Elective Care Recovery Plan to address backlogs built up during the COVID-19 pandemic and tackle long waits for care.
Entitled the ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care', the proposal is also intended to give patients greater control over their own health and offer greater choice of where they access care.
“As we face the ongoing impact of the pandemic, reducing waiting lists for non-urgent procedures will be a huge challenge for the NHS. The elective care plan rightly highlights the importance of helping people prepare well for surgery, and the role that social prescribing link workers can play in this process.
“Effective social prescribing can also help people who are waiting for operations to take part in activities or access services that improve their health and wellbeing more generally. We welcome the launch of the My Planned Care platform, which can offer personalised information for patients and support them to understand and link to social prescribing services.”
