The impact of the NHS reforms on queues and surgical outcomes in England: Evidence from hip fracture patients

National Health Service (NHS) reform introduced incentives for efficiency and cost effective ness, yet little is known about their effectiveness in reducing waiting times for surgery or improving post-surgical outcomes. This paper finds that waiting times for hip fracture surgery declined after the NHS reforms, and patients were more likely to be discharged to another provider. However, hospitals have not simply shifted the burden of care to other providers, since lengths of stay ending in a discharge to home fell. The effect of wait time on surgical outcomes is small in magnitude and cannot explain the post-reform improvements in outcomes.