The NHS in Gloucestershire is making excellent progress in improving outpatient services. The aim is to give patients faster, more reliable, and more joined up care. This work is helping to reduce waiting times and increase the number of people who can be seen.
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has led an improvement programme to make outpatient clinics more consistent across specialties.
Teams checked clinic start and finish times, session length, the balance of new and follow up appointments, the mix of face to face and virtual appointments and the amount of administration time needed. Specialties including colorectal, gynaecology, ophthalmology and paediatrics found significant opportunities to work more efficiently.
This work is already delivering benefits for patients. By July 2025 use of clinics had risen by 7.3 percent compared with 2024. This means more patients are being seen sooner and clinics are running more smoothly.
Gloucestershire also has the highest use of Patient Initiated Follow Up (PIFU) in England, at 11 percent. PIFU allows patients to book their own follow up appointments when they need them. This prevents unnecessary visits, gives patients more control and frees up capacity for those with urgent needs.
Use of Advice and Guidance (A&G) is also increasing. GPs can get specialist advice more quickly without sending patients to hospital. This supports quicker decisions and avoids unnecessary appointments. A&G use has grown by nearly 20 percent in 2025/26 with more than 40,000 requests helping patients get the right advice closer to home.