Outpatients Transformation3
More capacity. Reduced waiting lists. Better care.
Outpatient services are the single biggest opportunity to cut waiting lists and improve patient experience. But many Trusts are stuck in old ways of working, delivering fewer virtual appointments than during COVID, struggling to embed Patient Initiated Follow-Up (PIFU) at scale, and relying on costly short-term fixes.
At Channel³, we help Trusts to design and deliver a sustainable, digital-first outpatient model - freeing up appointments, reducing costs, and giving clinicians back time to provide care where its most needed.
The Challenge
Outpatient demand has doubled in the last decade – 10% of England’s population is now on an elective treatment waiting list.
Over 40% of acute Trusts are not meeting minimum RTT targets, where 60% or more of patients should be seen within 18 weeks.
23% of booked appointments result in hospital cancellations, patient cancellations and no shows. These waste valuable capacity and place additional burdens on outpatients admin.
Digital adoption is lagging with £250m wasted on storing paper records last year.
Doing nothing isn’t an option: People’s conditions worsen whilst they wait, putting pressure on wider health and care services.
The Opportunity³
-
![]()
Now
Waiting lists are at record levels. Trusts spend millions on temporary staff and short-term fixes that don’t address the cause. But there are opportunities to boost productivity through data-driven procedural and behavioural change.
-
![]()
Next
With targeted digital transformation of outpatient services, we estimate that service providers across England could unlock up to 500,000 additional appointments every month and ease pressure on services.
-
![]()
Future
Outpatients will look very different: care delivered closer to home, supported by neighbourhood hubs, virtual consults and digital-first pathways that make services more accessible and sustainable.
Introducing the Outpatients Optimiser³
See where to start, prove what works, scale fast.
The Outpatients Optimiser³ is an insight tool which benchmarks English NHS acute trusts using public data to reveal what’s working today. It provides scenarios of opportunity levers to pull that reduce waiting lists, unlock capacity, and deliver better experiences for both patients and clinicians.
-
The Optimiser³ uses public data to show how your outpatient services stack up against other Trusts. It highlights where you’re strong and where opportunities lie to close the gap.
-
From virtual consultations and PIFU to specialist advice and diagnostics, the Optimiser³ pinpoints which actions will unlock the most capacity, reduce waits, and lower costs in your Trust.
-
Get prioritised, evidence-based recommendations you can implement quickly. Each step is mapped to measurable ROI - so you can prove impact quickly and scale what works.
The Impact³
-
![]()
More capacity
Unlock more capacity every year by redesigning outpatient pathways and making smarter use of resources.
-
![]()
Lower costs
Reduce spend on agency staff and short-term waiting list schemes by investing in sustainable outpatient transformation.
-
![]()
Better care
Provide faster access, clearer digital-first communication, and more meaningful time between patients and clinicians.
Reimagining outpatients
A future where:
Patients are in control of their own journey.
Admin is powered by digital, with hybrid teams working flexibly.
AI speeds up diagnostics and captures a complete view of each patient.
Background processes are automated and invisible.
Clinicians spend more time on care, not paperwork.
Clinics are closer to communities, freeing up space in acute hospitals.
Resources to explore
Want to dig deeper into how outpatient transformation connects to the wider system?
Explore our health & care blueprint:
A vision for prevention, acute flow, and independence that shows how changes in outpatients unlock benefits across health and care.
Why Channel³?
Insight that drives action
Our Outpatients Optimiser³ pinpoints gaps, opportunities, and ROI-backed quick wins.
Digital expertise
We bring deep NHS digital transformation experience.
Clinical expertise
Our teams include clinicians who understand how to deliver the change that matters.
Proven ROI
We focus on measurable impact, not just strategy.
Examples of what we deliver
Bespoke data insights for a trust, showing RTT performance and backlog impact.
Opportunity modelling to demonstrate a 5% improvement in RTT.
Roadmaps to reduce cost per appointment, unlocking significant savings for the Trust.
Patient experience improvements through personalised digital communication and reduced waits.
Get in touch
Book a session:
To see the Outpatients Optimiser³ in action.
Arrange a discovery workshop:
To surface challenges and agree priorities.
Start an engagement with us to go from insight to impact
Deliver rapid improvements that unlock capacity and cut waiting times, while building a clear case for change to transform outpatients and reimagine the future of care.