Reduction in ambulance handover delays at EDs
Created new patient pathways enabling direct referrals to appropriate NHS and independent services
Established six community beds for patients are not suitable for acute hospital admission, and a mental health interim night hub
A regional ambulance provider asked TN to facilitate a series of workshops with health system partners to collaborate on the design and implementation of alternative pathways. The new pathways needed to improve the quality and access to emergency and urgent care within the region, engaging the system to build a shared commitment to reduce ambulance wait times at EDs.
The trust aimed to reduce wait times by increasing the usage of existing alternative pathways and designing new alternative pathways for patients who could be treated more appropriately in the community.
- Bringing the system together: Worked at pace to hold workshops with executives and directors from acute, community, mental health, and ambulance trusts, NHS Improvement, NHS England, and the Emergency Care Improvement Support Team (ECIST). Facilitated system-level discussions on what ‘working as a system’ really means, and identified methods to facilitate pathway design
- Establishing new pathways: Identified and mapped out potential pathways, agreeing initiatives that could be implemented immediately to improve patient outcomes and experience, as well as system performance. Prioritised pathways for implementation based on a framework of impact, feasibility, and leadership
- Increasing utilisation of existing pathways: Reviewed current practice and discussed optimisation opportunities for current pathways. Learned from user stories and understood ‘blockers’ preventing more frequent use of alternative pathways
