Elective care

Elective care refers to medical treatments or procedures that are planned and are not emergencies. It includes things like routine check-ups, scheduled surgeries (like hip replacements or cataract surgery), and diagnostic tests (like scans or blood tests). Other terms you might see used interchangeably with elective care are “non-emergency care” or “planned care”. 

Our elective care strategy for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent from 2025 – 2030, is now published.

Approximately £400m per year is spent on elective care in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent
(SSoT). The main acute provider is University Hospital of North Midlands (UHNM), which
operates two hospitals in the county in Stoke-on-Trent and Stafford; University Hospital Derby
and Burton (UHDB), and the Royal Wolverhampton Trust (RWT) also provide acute provision
for the population, including Queen’s hospital located in Burton. In addition, there is one
community NHS trust (MPFT), two acute independent sector providers (Nuffield Health and
Ramsay Healthcare) and 141 GP practices.

The scope of the strategy covers both the adult and paediatric population and spans the whole
of planned elective activity, from prevention through to treatment, be that self-management,
primary, community, secondary or tertiary care. This includes one-off elective treatment,
ongoing treatment for long-term conditions and palliative care, with the associated
deliverables delivered on an integrated basis through underpinning delivery plans.

The elective care strategy outlines key areas of focus that will guide the development of our services and
practices to effectively meet current and future demand for elective services. It is aligned with
the three major shifts in the 10-year plan, acknowledges the neighbourhood health guidelines,
and will align with associated neighbourhood health plans, which will be delivered through the
left shift approach. By using evidence to inform our actions, we will improve the health and
wellbeing of our population, reduce health inequalities and improve access to consistently
high-quality elective services.