Referral-to-Treatment for Surgical Carpal Tunnel ... - 18 Weeks

Musculoskeletal Audit (MSk) - Carpal Tunnel Surgery
As expected, the delay before being added to a theatre list was much reduced for second hands compared
to first (Fig. 19) because there is little need for or use of further review appointments or Nerve Conduction
Studies (Fig. 20). However, patients still then wait an average of eleven weeks prior to second surgery.
Fig. 19: Average time spent in each stage of the Referral to Treatment process - first versus second
hands
50
Mean number of weeks
40
30
20
10
0
First hand
Second hand
From referral to OPA
Diag/review to theatre list
OPA to diagnostics/review
Theatre list to surgery
See Figure 4 for method of calculation of average times
Fig. 20: Path from Outpatient Appointment to Surgery - first versus second hands
100
Percentage of patients
80
60
40
20
0
First hand
Second hand
Added to surgical waiting list at OPA
NCS - reviewed by phone/letter
Other
NCS - reviewed by further OPA
No NCS, but further review OPA
‘Other’ encompasses a number of patients with unusual paths to surgery, including some private patients, those who left
their OPA to consider options before getting back in touch, those reviewed by letter without an OPA, those sent for
diagnostics but cancelled and added straight to the waiting list for surgery, or, in the case of second hands, those added
directly onto the surgical list on the day of surgery for their first hands
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