Urgent and Emergency Care

Our Assurance and Delivery team have created this space to share best practice and showcase innovative approaches to service transformation and sustainability. Information shared is for A&E Delivery Board partners, including; local authorities, acute trusts, community trusts, primary Care, ambulance and NHS 111 services, mental health providers and CCGs.

If you have questions about any of these resources, please email us: England.southcentraloperations@nhs.net

In this section:

 

Business continuity

  • Business continuity plan template – supported by the LMCs across NHS England South Central as  ‘an exemplar of good practice’ to support the Primary Care services.
  • GP business continuity scenario discussions – ‘off the shelf’ scenario based discussion exercises to support ‘lunch and learn’ style sessions for practices  in applying their business continuity planning.

 

Fire as an asset

  • This winter pressures evaluation report examines the impact of fire and rescue service (FRS) interventions to reduce the risk of winter-related ill health in vulnerable groups of people between October 2015 and March 2016. Excess winter deaths and winter-related health risks are an important issue for public health as colder weather conditions are associated with increased risks of illness and injury, particularly among older people.
  • “Prevention – what’s the goal?” A presentation from Public Health of England

 

Falls

  • This report produced by Public Health of England January 2017 aims to coordinate and support falls prevention activity in England.

 

In hospital care

Front door streaming for urgent and emergency care

  • The number of people attending emergency departments (ED) continues to rise every year. This is putting unprecedented pressure on the hospital and healthcare system. A third of patients attending ED in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire are discharged requiring no treatment. That’s approximately 60,000 people every year attending an extremely busy ED who could have been appropriately treated elsewhere. Bristol CCG has been testing a new streaming service at the front door of the Bristol Royal Infirmary’s Adult Emergency Department (ED).

Understanding patient flow in hospitals

  • Previous work on the A&E ‘crisis’ has identified that hospital bed space and the ability to move people through it lie at the heart of the problem. This report looks at the dynamics of patient flow and applies this to the NHS in England.

Patient navigators

  • This presentation explains the roles and responsibilities of Patient Navigators.

Emergency Care Improvement Programme – safer, faster, better care for patients

The hospital transfer pathway

  • The pathway is designed to support care homes, the ambulance service and the local hospital to meet the requirements of the NICE guidance (NG27). The Transition between inpatient hospital settings and community or care home settings for adults with social care.

 

Out of hospital care

The framework for enhanced health in care homes

  • Across England, six vanguards are working to improve the quality of life, healthcare and planning for people living in care homes. Care homes are working closely with the NHS, local authorities, the voluntary sector, carers and families to optimise the health of their residents. The enhanced health in care homes (EHCH) care model is an adjunct to the other new care models that are delivering whole population healthcare, as outlined in the the framework for enhanced health in care homes.

Nuffield Trust: Harnessing Social Action to support Older People

  • This report presents the findings of an evaluation of seven social action projects funded by the Cabinet Office, NHS England, Monitor, the NHS Trust Development Authority and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services.

Nuffield Winter Insight Briefing 2: NHS 111

  • NHS 111 is now well established. This briefing highlights the valuable role in steering people away from A&E.

 

Primary care

National Institute for Health Research

  • A study into improving access to primary care outside routine working hours reduces A&E attendances.

GP business continuity scenario discussions

  • These scenario based discussions are designed to complement your practices business continuity plans. Each scenario is designed to test elements of the practice’s business continuity plans and explore differing elements of how an incident is responded to.

 

Mental health

Mental health financial planning – frequently asked questions

  • This FAQ focuses on the Mental Health Investment Standard (MHIS), previously known as Parity of Esteem (PoE), and is the requirement for CCGs to increase investment in Mental Health (MH) services in line with their overall increase in allocation each year.

The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health Implementation Plan – A Year On

  • This report marks the anniversary of the publication of the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health. It highlights the progress made in the first year of the programme, and takes a look at the achievements we need to build upon to deliver next year and beyond.

Rapid improvement guide to trusted assessors – March 2017

  • Delays in patient discharge can be harmful to patients but most can be avoided, particularly if the delay is caused by waiting for a care provider to assess and accept a patient into their service. A trusted assessor carrying out the assessment − someone acting on behalf of and with permission of the provider − is a good way of dealing with these delays.

Trusted assessor information pack

  • This pack provides advice and guidance to commissioners and providers.

 

Telemedicine

  • “The How Why and What of Telemedicine in Care Homes” – a presentation by Nurse Consultant Rachel Binks, detailing enhanced health in care homes from a digital care hub providing teleconsulation and electronic shared records.

 

Useful websites