Search the hub
Showing results for tags 'Care coordination'.
Found 92 results
-
Content ArticleA casually centred proposal identifying how Fire and Rescue Services can improve pre-hospital care and quality of life outcomes for burn survivors. David Wales and Kristina Stiles have released this report looking at the burn survivor experience in the pre-hospital environment. The work makes ten operational recommendations and also two 'lessons learned' recommendations exploring strategic partnership working and the resulting fragmented services.
-
Content ArticleThe health needs of the population are changing, and many people need more co-ordinated care across primary, community, social and hospital services. More co-ordinated care requires organisations and staff to collaborate well across organisational and professional boundaries,
-
Content ArticlePatients often have multiple providers involved in their care. On the one hand, patients are able to receive specialty care to help manage multiple, complex medical conditions. On the other hand, such fragmentation in care may lead to medication errors from inaccurate or incomplete patient medication lists. As stewards of their patients' care, it is essential that primary care providers take steps to review and reconcile each patient's medication list to avoid errors or adverse drug events, and organisational leaders must ensure that systems are in place to support these efforts.
-
Content ArticleAnalysis, commentary and insight on patient flow from leaders across the healthcare sector. Please note you will need to submit your details to be able to download the report.
-
Content Article
Diabetes care: Is it fair enough? (Diabetes UK, 10 May 2023)
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Diabetes
Missed checks, disrupted care and health inequalities have been revealed in a new report from Diabetes UK looking at the state of diabetes care in England. The report reveals that less than half (47%) of people living with diabetes in England received all eight of their required checks in 2021-22, meaning 1.9 million people did not receive the care they need. It is calling for urgent action to address the routine diabetes care backlog and prevent avoidable deaths of people living with diabetes. -
News Article
Patients to receive better care as NHS and social care systems link up
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Patients will receive better, more joined-up care under new plans announced to improve the links between health and social care. The integration white paper sets out a vision for an integrated NHS and adult social care sector which will better serve patients and staff. Despite the best efforts of staff, the current system means that too often patients find themselves having to navigate complex and disjointed systems. Those with multiple conditions can be left feeling frustrated at having to repeatedly explain their needs to multiple people in different organisations, while others can end up facing delayed discharge because the NHS and local authorities are working to different priorities in a way that is not as joined up as it could be. The white paper sets out some of the ways health and care systems will draw on the resources and skills across the NHS and local government to better meet the needs of communities, reduce waiting lists and help level up healthcare across the country. Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: "Better integration is vital to stop people falling into the gaps between health and social care. Ensuring our health and care systems work in unison will mean we can support hardworking staff, provide better care to patients and deliver value for the taxpayer." "Our Integration white paper is part of our wider plans to reform and recover the health and social care system, ensuring everyone gets the treatment and care they need, when and where they need it." The plans set out in the white paper will ensure care is more personalised and accessible and remove the burdens on patients. Better information sharing will mean people will no longer have to remember key facts such as dates of diagnosis or medicines prescribed, taking pressure off patients to coordinate their own care. Local health services will be tailored to the specific needs of the community to ensure the right services are available. This could mean for example more diabetes clinics in areas with higher obesity, or additional support for people to stop smoking in communities where there are higher numbers of smokers. The integration white paper is the next step in delivering the government’s promise of a health and social care system fit for the future. It builds on both the Health and Social Care Bill and the People at the Heart of Care white paper which set out a 10-year vision for social care funded through the Health and Care Levy, and follows the delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care. Dedicated plans to tackle health disparities are set to be published in due course. Read press release Source: Gov.uk, 9 February 2022 -
News Article
111 First to go live imminently amid ‘vehement’ opposition in some EDs
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Emergency care leaders are warning it will take up to six more months to determine whether pilots of a radical change to accident and emergency are working, even though it is due to go live nationally next week, HSJ has learned. HSJ understands the new “111 First” system — where walk-in patients not in medical emergencies call 111 to “book” urgent care — is set to “go live” across England from next week following pilots in acute trusts which have been run since the summer. From 1 December, people will be able to call NHS 111 from anywhere in the country and have urgent care “booked” for them if needed, it is understood. NHS England has been pursuing the 111 First model to help reduce overcrowding and the risk of nosocomial infections in A&Es. The service is also intended to be able to book them into GP practice appointments. Well-placed sources confirmed most acute trusts have now implemented some form of 111 First and the model is set to be part of their standard operations when the national system “goes live” next week. A national advertising campaign is expected to promote the approach. But the Royal College of Emergency Care Medicine said there was a “vocal minority” of clinicians who are “vehemently against” 111 First as they believe it will increase demand in emergency departments. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 25 November 2020 -
News ArticleSerious patient safety and wellbeing concerns about the latest hospital discharge guidance have been raised to HSJ by senior clinicians and charities. Senior geriatricians warned that the guidance could prompt an increase in “urgent readmissions”, “permanent disability” and “excess mortality”, while charities said families could be left with “unsustainable caring responsibilities” because of the new rules. The government guidance, Hospital Discharge Service: policy and operating model, published in August, said clinicians should consider discharging patients when they were “medically optimised” rather than “medically fit”. It said 95% of these patients would return straight home with additional social care and rehabilitation support if needed. Many of the concerns raised surround the retention of the “criteria to reside”. This was originally agreed in March when there was a push from NHS England to free up acute beds over fears hospitals would become overwhelmed with covid admissions as the pandemic hit the UK. The criteria has, however, been maintained in the new guidance, despite a significant fall in infections and deaths from the virus. Rachel Power, chief executive of The Patients Association charity, warned: “This guidance makes it clear that the NHS is still having to take drastic emergency action in the face of covid-19, that will continue to take a heavy toll on patients. It is clear that many patients will be rushed home who would normally have had a longer period of hospital care.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 8 September 2020
-
News Article
Safety probe launched into NHS 111 Covid triage service
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Long delays for coronavirus patients to get through to NHS 111 call handlers while other seriously ill patients were told to stay at home have prompted a safety watchdog to launch an investigation of the phone triage service. The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) has launched an inquiry into the handling of coronavirus calls by NHS 111 – the first port of call for patients when they become unwell. During the pandemic the NHS 111 service set up a dedicated COVID-19 Clinical Assessment Service (CCAS) but concerns over the safety of advice given to patients saw nurses and non-medical staff stopped from taking patient calls in August last year. Now concerns from a number of patients and families have led the independent HSIB to launch a review of the service and to identify any learning and improvements. HSIB told The Independent the investigation was at an early stage and it was not yet certain of any direct link to patient harm. It said the number of patient cases could grow but that it had initial family concerns related to difficulties getting through to NHS 111, long delays in getting clinical call backs after an initial triage call and concerns that some patients were told to stay at home when they were seriously ill. Read full story Source: The Independent, 23 March 2021 -
News ArticleContinuity of care in general practice reduces use of out-of-hours care, acute hospitalisations and mortality, researchers have shown - as GP leaders warned staff shortages and heavy workload means it is becoming harder to deliver in the UK. Long-lasting personal continuity with a GP is 'strongly associated with reduced need for out-of-hours services, acute hospitalisations, and mortality', according to a study by researchers in Norway. An association lasting more than 15 years between a patient and a specific GP reduces the probability of any of these factors by 25-30%, the study published in the British Journal of General Practice found. The researchers said 'promoting stability among GPs' should be a priority for health authorities, and warned that continuity of care was under pressure. The findings come as general practice in the UK faces intense pressure amid a shortage of GPs and intense workload after more than 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Responding to the findings, RCGP chair Professor Martin Marshall said: "Continuity of care is highly valued by patients and GPs and our teams alike. It is what allows us to build relationships with our patients, often over time, and this study builds the strong evidence base of its benefits for patients and the NHS." Read full story Source: GP Online, 4 October 2021
-
EventuntilFrom the perspective of a service user, interactions with health and social care are often exceedingly difficult to navigate. The NHS’s traditional to approach to managing patient pathways has involved letters, appointments at set times, and stress for an individual needing to communicate that a planned consultation is no longer needed – or is needed more urgently. Knowing which service to access, and how to do so swiftly, can be particularly challenging. All this is inefficient and can lead to poor patient experience. As the service seeks to manage the backlog of care, and to meet the continuing demands of an unpredictable pandemic, that becomes particularly problematic. So how might healthcare organisations help move from patients who are passive participants in pathways to active partners, able to regularly communicate as their needs change? How might self-referrals and patient initiated follow up processes be more widely rolled out? What unpinning technology would be needed to make such a shift? This HSJ webinar, run in association with Salesforce, will bring together a small panel to discuss these issues. Register
-
EventuntilIn order to support the NHS Priorities set out for 2022/2023 in delivering significantly more elective care to tackle the elective backlog and to reduce long waits, we take a look at the developing approaches to patient care using collaborations with providers delivering treatments in the home in order to support patient flow. This webinar will explore: How teams have innovated to provide hospital-at-home during the Covid-19 crisis and what’s needed to maintain the momentum of change? What is the future direction for hospital-at-home, post-pandemic, and what will accelerate or prevent adoption at scale? Evaluation and evidence required to support the case for change. Register
-
EventuntilOne of the great opportunities for ICSs may be around reducing future demand for healthcare by ensuring that people remain healthy or are helped to reduce the chances of deteriorating if they do develop an illness or long-term condition. Prevention and early intervention underlie much of the NHS Long Term Plan, with a recognition that the NHS can no longer simply be an “ill health” service and instead bends to think about prevention and reducing health inequalities. Many ICSs are keen to develop this role and bring together the organisations they represent – across both the NHS and local authorities –to work collaboratively on this. But with resources and time limited, they may need to concentrate their efforts on particular areas. The second wave of covid – and the prospect of widespread vaccination starting within weeks - has added a new dimension to this with an urgent need to reduce the pressure covid places on the NHS and on normal life in general. This webinar will ask: has covid helped focus the NHS’s eyes on prevention? where are the “easy wins” for ICSs where interventions are most likely to have significant results within a reasonable timeframe? what key steps do ICSs need to take to get the maximum benefit from these? How can they build common purpose among their members to ensure these happen? how can public health be made “business as usual” for everyone working in the NHS – including those in hospitals? how can ICSs balance the preventative interventions which deliver short-term benefits with those which take longer to offer a “return on investment”? Register
-
Content ArticleFrail older adults are often at increased risk of patient safety incidents including rehospitalisation and overtreatment. In this study, published in BMC Geriatrics, researchers in the United States assessed the association of care coordination and preventable adverse events in frail older adults. Compared with non-frail older adults, they found that frail older adults reported experiencing more adverse events they believed could have been prevented with better care coordination.
-
Content ArticleClinical engagement has supplemented clinical governance in healthcare to strengthen the contribution of medical professionals to the assessment of clinical outcomes for patients. Assessments of clinical engagement have, until now, been qualitative; this case study in the journal Australian Health Review introduces the concept of quantitative assessment of clinical engagement by measuring the number of patients managed according to specialist society guidelines. Such an assessment engages all staff (medical, nursing, allied health and pharmacy) involved in patients receiving treatment according to such guidelines and provides an assessment of individual and organisational compliance with those guidelines. Clinical engagement is then quantified as the percentage of patients that have been documented to receive specialist society- or college-approved guideline-compliant treatment, relative to the total number who could receive such treatment, in any healthcare organisation.
-
Content ArticleLisa Drake, an NHS ex General Practice Manager now working in a digital advisory role, shares some of the missed opportunities for digital ways of working she witnessed when she was a patient herself.
-
Content ArticleThe Re-Engineered Discharge (Project RED) programme is a nationally recognised best practice centered on delivering a patient-tailored hospital discharge plan demonstrated to reduce all-cause 30-day readmissions and improve safety during care transitions. In this study, Mitchell et al. implemented the RED in 10 hospitals to study the implementation process.
-
Content ArticleTrusts and frontline staff are working flat out to restore those services which were necessarily interrupted to cope with the first peak of the pandemic. NHS Providers' Restoring services: NHS activity tracker highlights detailed examples of the innovations trusts and their staff developing to improve capacity, and respond to unmet demand despite the constraints created by COVID-19, and the need to prepare for additional winter pressures.
-
Content Article
Centre for Perioperative Care: What is perioperative care?
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Surgery
Perioperative care is the Integrated care across the full patient pathway before, during and after surgery. Perioperative care, also referred to as perioperative medicine, is the practice of patient-centered, multidisciplinary, and integrated medical care of patients from the moment of contemplation of surgery until full recovery. The Centre for Perioperative Care has produced a video on what good perioperative care looks like and a number or resources and advice on the perioperative journey. -
Content ArticleThe National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)’s Rare Disease Database provides brief introductions for patients and caregivers to specific rare diseases.
-
Content Article
NHS Pathways
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Care pathways
NHS Pathways is a clinical tool used for assessing, triaging and directing the public to urgent and emergency care services. -
Content ArticleWard rounds are the focal point for a hospital’s multidisciplinary teams to undertake assessments and care planning with their patients. Coordination of assessments, plans and communication is essential for effective and efficient care. However, the delivery of ward rounds is consistently constrained by the competing priorities of clinical staff. A number of factors contribute to this, including workforce gaps, inadequate planning, unwarranted variation in practice and an absence of training in the skills required to deliver complex multidisciplinary team care. This leads to frustration for staff and patients, and can lead to errors in care, longer stays in hospital and readmissions. A new report from UK healthcare professional leaders including the Royal College of Physicians, and developed along with patients, sets out best practice for modern ward rounds.
-
Content ArticleThis document from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) sets out how health and care systems can ensure that people: are discharged safely from hospital to the most appropriate place. continue to receive the care and support they need after they leave hospital. It replaces ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19) hospital discharge service requirements’ published on 19 March 2020.
-
Content ArticleDrawing on a 2010 analysis of the reform and costs of adult social care commissioned by Downing Street and the UK Department of Health, this paper from Glasby et al., published in the Journal of Social Policy, sets out projected future costs under different reform scenarios, reviews what happened in practice from 2010-19, explores the impact of the growing gap between need and funding, and explores the relationship between future spending and economic growth. It identifies a ‘lost decade’ in which policy makers failed to act on the warnings which they received in 2010, draws attention to the disproportionate impact of cuts on older people (compared to services for people of working age) and calls for urgent action before the current system becomes unsustainable.
-
Content ArticleA key part of the NHS long-term plan, primary care networks (PCNs) will bring general practices together to work at scale. But what are they? How are they funded and held accountable? And what difference will they make? The King's Fund explains the latest form of GP collaboration.
