On Wednesday, CHFT hosted the annual Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) team visit to the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Clinical Networks and West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts (WYAAT).

GIRFT is a national programme which aims to improve the care and treatment of patients by reviewing specialties to examine how things are currently being done and how they could be improved.

Professor Tim Briggs and his team visited to review the progress made across our region towards elective recovery. There were presentations from each of the surgical specialty clinical network leads. They shared how the networks have identified and used best practice, overcome challenges, improved performance and what further improvement opportunities have been identified to support recovery in the coming year.

A presentation from the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance detailed their successes and challenges delivering ambitious targets across the region. Professor Briggs stated how impressed he was with our progress, and whilst there are still areas for improvement, he said: “The WYAAT network is the strongest clinical network we’ve seen."

Pictured: GIRFT National Implementation Director, Graham Lomax. WYAAT Elective Recovery Programme Manager, Caroline Dada. NHS England National Director for Clinical Improvement and Elective Recovery and GIRFT Chair Professor Tim Briggs. WYAAT Elective Recovery Medical Lead and Consultant Plastic Surgeon, Mark Liddington.  WYAAT COO lead for Planned Care and COO HDFT, Russell Nightingale.