South West London CCG Annual Report and Accounts 2020/21

Physical health checks for people with severe mental illness This indicator monitors the proportion of the people on the Severe Mental Illness (SMI) GP register receiving six physical health checks within the last 12 months. As with the health checks for people on the learning disabilities register, the health checks for those on the SMI register have also been adversely impacted by the pandemic and associated reduction in face-to-face GP appointments and the challenges posed by social distancing and shielding. To improve performance several actions have been taken over this past year, these include: • Employment of dedicated staff to make tailored contact with patients to explain and underscore the importance of the health checks and encourage them to make an appointment. • Engaging with the voluntary sector to work with people with SMI to bring them to their appointments. • Appointments, or in some cases outreach, that are designed to be more enabling to those with SMI to attend. • Ensure that as much of the check is done in advance remotely to minimise contact time for the physical check to be able to reassure those with SMI that risks are being minimised. • Any other reasonable adjustments to assist with the process, such as additional dedicated time for the checks to be completed. Cancer waiting times There are nine cancer waiting time standards captured under three main groupings: • 2 Week Waits (93% standard). • 31-Days first (96%) and subsequent treatments. • 62-Days referral to treatment (85% standard). Although NHS England asked trusts to postpone all elective treatments by the middle of April 2020, it also stipulated that ‘cancer treatment and other clinically urgent care should continue unaffected’. In South West London we have delivered strong performance against the cancer waiting times standards in comparison with the rest of London and nationally. Working with RM Partners (the West London Cancer Alliance which brings together NHS acute trusts, community services, primary care, commissioners, public health and the voluntary sector) we have been able to protect cancer surgery throughout the pandemic, with over 1,800 patients from across South West London being treated at the Royal Marsden, the designated green West London Cancer Hub. We have also worked with RM Partners on media and publicity campaigns to boost awareness of potential cancer symptoms to increase access to GPs and referrals to cancer services, and to increase public confidence. NHS South West London CCG’s 2-Week Wait performance has exceeded the national average every month since the start of the 108 | NHS South West London Clinical Commissioning Group