NHS Providers has highlighted some of the best practice for improving patient flow in a new report outlining the innovations and steps taken by trusts from a variety of specialties.
The report, entitled Providers Deliver: Patient Flow, features case studies demonstrating the effective approaches utilised by trusts across the acute, community, mental health and ambulance sectors.
Some of the underlying narratives that remained constant throughout the case studies include avoiding admission, caring for patients at home, proactive healthcare as well as reactive, collaboration, and leadership that encourages the autonomy of clinicians.
In a foreword opening up the report, NHS Providers’ chief executive, Sir Julian Hartley, writes: “The case studies in this report show how trusts are working collaboratively to prevent avoidable admissions, manage demand more effectively, build additional capacity sustainably, use technology to deliver more care in community settings, and deliver real improvements in patients’ experience of accessing the health and care they need in a timely way.”
The case studies in the report include:
- Community diagnostic centre – Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust
- Same day emergency care – The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust
- Tracking patient flow across a region – South West Provider Collaborative
- Provider collaborative – Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust and Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Population health – Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust
The report also features the perspective of NHS England's national director of urgent and emergency care, and deputy chief operating officer, Sarah-Jane Marsh.
She says: "It will take strong partnerships between acute, community and mental health providers, primary care, social care and the voluntary sector, to ensure a system that provides more, and better, care in people's homes; gets ambulances to people more quickly when they need them, sees people faster when they go to hospital and helps people safely leave hospital having received the care they need."
