
Prioritiser
A tool to help with surgical waiting list prioritisation
The waiting list challenge
NHS waiting list data shows that over 83,000 people were waiting more than a year for a treatment in July. Our estimates suggest that over 10 million people will be on the waiting list by April with ongoing challenges for even longer due to the disruption from COVID-19. As the NHS recovers, it is critical that the clinical risk to people on the waiting list is minimised effectively and managed efficiently.
Read more about our work here.
75 million
Weeks waited by people on the official NHS waiting list
10 million
Estimated size of waiting list by April 2021
83,799
People waiting more than 52 weeks for their operation
The solution is Prioritiser
Prioritiser has been developed to help surgical prioritisation of cases.
Prioritiser takes guidance from the Royal College of Surgeon and applies it to the waiting lists. This is automatic, replicable, and can be checked. It reduces the burden on clinicians and helps Boards to assess compliance with, or understand deviations from, the guidance.
How we work to deliver Prioritiser
1. Diagnose
Assess size of demand and capacity imbalance
1. Diagnose
Assess size of demand and capacity imbalance
6. Track
Retrospectively detect deviation from guidance
2. Calibrate
Calibrate Prioritiser with local data and criteria
2. Calibrate
Calibrate Prioritiser with local data and criteria
5. Prioritise
Proactively prioritise waiting list
5. Prioritise
Proactively prioritise waiting list
4. Handover
Handover Prioritiser to end user
3. Test and optimise
Test Prioritiser with end users and optimise
Prioritiser in practice
User interface links to waiting list (PTL) and provides clear case-by-case prioritisation categorisation and summary statistics.

“this is critical to the NHS recovery”
"Prioritiser is a powerful tool that uses our data to help us prioritise patients. The machine learning means that our clinicians will spend far less time organising their waiting lists and more time focusing on delivery."
Prioritiser performance
In testing, Prioritiser matched +75% of cases with clinical experts.
Expert understanding
We understand operating theatres and how clinical decision-making works in practice
Reduce workload
Prioritiser automates the categorisation of the waiting list based on RCS guidance, so that the workload of clinicians is minimised
Reduce risk
Prioritiser is designed to help identify deviations between practice and agreed standards – limiting the scope for different interpretation of guidance that may difficult to check before there’s a problem
Why Prioritiser and Edge Health
Prioritiser has been developed to help surgical prioritisation of cases.
Prioritiser takes guidance from the Royal College of Surgeon and applies it to the waiting lists. This is automatic, replicable, and can be checked. It reduces the burden on clinicians and helps Boards to assess compliance with, or understand deviations from, the guidance.
Expert understanding
We understand operating theatres and how clinical decision-making works in practice
Reduce workload
Prioritiser automates the categorisation of the waiting list based on RCS guidance, so that the workload of clinicians is minimised
Reduce risk
Prioritiser is designed to help identify deviations between practice and agreed standards – limiting the scope for different interpretation of guidance that may difficult to check before there’s a problem
Talk to us about working together
We want to help you and your organisation to succeed in managing your waiting list as safely and effectively as possible. We are here and ready to listen.
020 8133 4504