Issue - meetings

- Joanne Martin and Dr David Clitherow, RCCG

Dr. David Clitherow, Lead GP for Unscheduled Care, RCCG, gave the following powerpoint presentation:-

Proposal

To redesign our urgent and emergency care system to ensure~:

-          Patients receive the right care first time – one place to go if you have an emergency or urgent care need

-          Patients receive quality care – bringing together the skills of primary care with the skills of accident and emergency in a modern facility

-          Rotherham’s emergency and urgent care services are sustainable for the future – more and more patients need and will need urgent care and re-investing in this area will make the whole NHS in Rotherham work better

Why do we need to change?

-          Rotherham patients told us that the existing system is confusing and they do not know where to go when they have an urgent care need.  Sometimes they go to more than one service

-          We know that sometimes patients can wait a long time when they access urgent care, we want to improve this

-          We know that demand for urgent and emergency care services continues to rise.  The existing service may struggle to meet the demand in the future especially with an ageing population

-          We know that patients are sometimes admitted to hospital unnecessarily creating pressure on services

-          Nationally the evidence base states that 30% of A&E attendances are for conditions which could be treated by primary care

-          Nationally the direction of travel is to develop emergency centres

The Vision

To have one Emergency Centre to provide a single urgent and emergency care system for the people of Rotherham, located at the hospital

This means

-          Emergency Department staff and Primary Care staff working together to provide a multi-skilled workforce fully equipped to meet the patients’ needs

-          The GP OOH service and care co-ordination centre will be based there so all urgent care services are together in one place

-          It will have better links with Mental Health Services

-          It will have better links with Social Care Services

-          Enhanced facilities to meet future demand

Discussion took place around the new IT system.  There were different systems at present but the new system would be one system for the emergency centre to allow the sharing of information in order to provide the best care possible.

How will it work?

-          Patients will book in at reception

-          Patients will then be rapidly assessed by a senior clinician

-          Diagnostics will be requested if appropriate (x-ray, bloods etc.)

-          Patients will then be streamed to the most appropriate clinician to treat their condition.  This might mean back to own GP or pharmacy if this is appropriate or direct to a speciality

-          The patient will either be admitted to hospital, observed 24 hours, discharged home or alternative level of care

If patients rung the GP Out of Hours Services they would check in at reception via touch screen.

What difference will it make to the people of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37