Defence Secondary Care Agency (Hansard, 5 June 1998)

§ Dr. Reid

Key Targets have been set for the Chief Executive of the Defence Secondary Care Agency for financial year 1998–99. The targets build on the progress396W already made by the Agency since it formed in April 1996 and are as follows:

Key Target 1—The Operational Requirement
From within the personnel resources provided to the DSCA by the single Services, to meet 100 per cent. of the Commanders in Chief's requirements for secondary care trained personnel for operational deployments.

Key Target 2—Outpatient Waiting Times
To ensure that 55 per cent. of Service patients referred to the Agency are offered a first outpatient appointment within four weeks of receipt of a referral and 95 per cent. within 13 weeks.
Key Target 3—Inpatient Waiting Times
To ensure that 80 per cent. of Service patients are offered a treatment date which is within three months of the decision to give inpatient treatment.
Key Target 4—Financial Efficiency
To develop, by 31 December 1998, a target for DSCA which represents a measure of the Agency's efficiency in achieving its corporate targets and to have set measurable Performance Indicators for subsequent years.
Key Target 5—Quality and Patient Care
By 31 December 1998, the DSCA will link the management systems introduced for Clinical and Non-Clinical risks and Health and Safety, with Clinical Audit and quality improvement programmes in order to determine a Quality Strategy for 1999–2000 and will have set measurable Performance indicators for subsequent years.
Key Target 6—Military Training
To ensure that 80 per cent. of all DSCA personnel, whose medical category permits, receive their respective Service's annual mandatory military training.
Key Target 7—Exercises
To ensure that 80 per cent. of the posts detailed for each Field Unit's exercise requirement are to be filled by the DSCA, are filled.
Key Target 8—Clinical Training
To have compiled, by 31 December 1998, a table by specialty of the total of approved years of Specialist Registrar training at each of the DSCA Units and to set measurable targets for subsequent years.