Anonymous summary data on the number of hospital bookings using the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS) has been published for the first time today as an open dataset.
The management information is published as an interactive dashboard and an open data file, and includes weekly data on referrals2, bookings3 and appointment slot issues (ASIs)4 performed through e-RS between October 1 2019 and May 30 2020.
This information is broken down by CCG (parent of referring organisation)5, priority (excluding booking data), specialty and clinic type.
The data does not include those patients that have had a referral, booking or attempted booking outside of e-RS.
e-RS provides an easy way for patients to choose their first hospital or clinic appointment with a specialist. Bookings can be made by the patient online, using the telephone, or directly in the GP surgery at the time of referral.
Under the NHS Standard Contract, all GPs in England use e-RS to make all referrals to consultant-led outpatient services.
This CCG-level data is being made available to a wider audience to allow for its use in public health – enabling greater analysis, modelling and planning to be performed.
The dataset will be updated on a monthly basis and feedback is welcome here: [email protected] Please reference “NHS e-RS Open Dataset feedback” in the title of the email.
ENDS
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