This year, MBI Health delivered one of the largest coordinated waiting list validation programmes across the NHS. Working with nine acute trusts, we validated 270,000 patient pathways across three national sprints, achieving an average removal rate of 31% and significantly improving confidence in waiting list data.
Over the same period, the overall NHS waiting list reduced by around 200,000 pathways nationally. No single intervention explains that change, but we are proud that MBI’s validation work made a meaningful contribution, removing pathways that no longer required care and helping trusts regain control of their PTLs.
While the national validation sprint programme may not continue in its current form next year, the need for accurate, trusted waiting list data has not gone away. Validation remains essential for patient safety, operational stability and credible recovery planning.
What the sprints demonstrated
The sprint programme showed that large-scale validation can be delivered quickly and safely, without disrupting business as usual, when it is targeted and well governed.
MBI’s approach focused first on pathways most likely to be removed, delivering early impact, before moving on to confirmation and assurance across the remaining list. This ensured trusts achieved both rapid reductions and greater confidence in what remained.
Across three sprints in 2025, MBI delivered:
- Sprint 1: 91,000 pathways validated, 41% removed
- Sprint 2: 97,000 pathways validated, 30% removed
- Sprint 3: 82,000 pathways validated, 22% removed
In total, this represents 270,000 validations across nine trusts, with a 31% average removal rate. For trusts undertaking a targeted validation project for the first time, removal rates of 30–40% are typical.
Programmes that paid for themselves
Removal rates remained high enough for the sprint programmes to cover their delivery costs and generate additional income for trusts through NHS removal payments.
By removing pathways that no longer required care, trusts reduced waiting list size while unlocking associated funding. In practice, this meant the cost of the MBI validation teams was offset, with programmes delivering a net financial benefit alongside operational improvement.
Validation beyond national programmes
Even if national sprints pause or change, validation remains critical, particularly for trusts preparing for or recovering from new EPR deployments.
EPR go-lives are a common cause of PTL destabilisation. Data migration issues, inconsistent coding and process changes can quickly undermine confidence in waiting list data.
Targeted validation helps stabilise the PTL:
- pre-go live, by ensuring accurate pathways are migrated
- post-go live, by identifying and correcting issues early
MBI has supported trusts through validation both within and beyond national programmes, tailoring delivery to local risk and system change.
A trusted partner for validation
MBI’s managed validation service is not dependent on national funding. We support trusts wherever validation is needed, whether as a one-off intervention or part of a longer stabilisation plan.
Our support goes beyond backlog reduction. Alongside delivery, we help trusts:
- understand the causes of data quality issues
- address process and system weaknesses, including those linked to EPR change
- reduce the risk of patients being lost to follow-up
- strengthen RTT and non-RTT reporting confidence
Where appropriate, validation is supported by ROVA automated document reading and the LUNA data quality platform, enabling ongoing assurance.
Supporting stability and recovery
As the NHS enters the next phase of elective recovery, trusts will continue to face pressure from demand, workforce constraints and system change. Whether or not national sprint programmes continue, the need for trusted validation expertise remains.
By delivering validation at scale in 2025, MBI has shown this work can be done safely, efficiently and in a way that is financially viable as well as operationally effective. We continue to support trusts as a reliable partner for validation, helping them stabilise their PTLs, protect patient safety and maintain confidence through change.
