FOI Request
- Disclosure ID
- FOI/03492
- Request Date
- January 6, 2020
- Subject
- A&E Programmes & Services
- Description
1). Which programmes or services (either internally developed or commissioned) to tackle high attendance rates at A&E do you possess and are in operation? e.g. To identify and address High Intensity Users (HIUs) at A&E, redirection to other services such as Minor Injury Units, etc.
2). How effective have they been for the Trust?
3). The cost (how much) of the programme or service to the Trust, per year.
- Response
1). At the Gateway to the Urgent Care Centre, FCMS/PDS has used NHS Reception Point based upon NHS Pathways to navigate patients to the most appropriate service using their presenting symptoms since 2010 ( UTC (Primary Care) vs Emergency Department). NHS Pathways is reliable and is also used within 111 and 999 services across the country. NHS Pathways handles more than 14 million calls made to the NHS per year. It can be used in any urgent and emergency care setting. Every receptionist undergoes extensive training to ensure they use the symptom safely and effectively to give the best possible care to the patients. There are over 800 symptom pathways within the clinical assessment tool. It is under constant review and direction by the National Clinical Governance Group, which is made up of NHS clinicians with extensive experience in the urgent and emergency care services. High intensity users are assessed in the same way as all patients and navigated to either UTC or ED as appropriate.
2). Less than 5% of patients a month are navigated into ED once they have been seen in Primary Care.
3). There is no cost to the Trust as this is part of the Integrated Urgent Care Contract commissioned by Fylde Coast CCG ( Blackpool CCG and Fylde and Wyre CCG)