Throughout England, the urgent and emergency care system is under intense pressure. The NHS Long Term Plan sets out ambitious targets to expand these services with the aim of ensuring patients get the care they need quicker, in more accessible locations, while simultaneously relieving pressure on A&E departments and providing better management of seasonal spikes such as winter.
Arden & GEM offers a range of solutions that are reducing the operational pressures faced in urgent and emergency care. Our services can improve performance, reduce unplanned and avoidable admissions, and empower citizens to self-manage and make informed decisions about how to access NHS services.
Strategy and collaboration
The integration of healthcare systems provides an opportunity to improve services and deliver efficiencies. Strong collaboration and aligned strategies will help you to better coordinate delivery and mobilisation plans, manage capacity, respond to surges and integrate services to drive out efficiencies. Whether your needs are for a longer term transformation or to develop resilience and contingency plans, we have experience of bringing systems together, including national bodies such as HEE and ADASS. We can deliver focussed accelerated learning events to build rapid engagement or provide more comprehensive strategy development and establish the governance, relationships and programme management to make delivery happen.
Improving patient flow
We provide a range of services that can improve the flow of patients, maximise capacity and increase financial efficiency within your system:
- Our analytical capabilities help you to understand your current bed utilisation and deliver predictive modelling to inform future capacity and configuration decisions
- Experienced Lean practitioners can support you to streamline services, improve consistency, reduce variation, remove unnecessary delays, identify and address bottlenecks
- Pathway redesign and transformation support; from navigating patients away from A&E to more appropriate care settings (for example implementing Acute Mental Health liaison or GPs within A&E) to designing and implementing Discharge to Assess and frailty programmes.
A&E avoidance
We provide a range of services that can help you to manage your population more effectively to reduce avoidable urgent care admissions:
- Risk stratification tools using the Johns Hopkins Adjusted Clinical Group (ACG) methodology to enable clinicians to identify and manage those at risk of unplanned admission
- Service redesign that specifically targets those living with long term conditions and frailty
- Digital therapeutics that empower patients to self-manage and remain healthy.
Behavioural change
Our award-winning social marketing team has a strong track record in delivering behavioural change campaigns. We use a ‘people first’ philosophy, built on research and insight, a proven approach to campaign management and a focus on evaluation. From creating healthier lifestyles, through to awareness and signposting for the best way to access services, we go beyond awareness raising to actually change behaviour, and even creating a new social norm.
Ambulance productivity and performance
We also offer a range of digital healthcare solutions that are improving the efficiency and effectiveness of ambulance services. By utilising satellite technology we are improving connectivity and providing ambulance staff with remote access to support from A&E doctors and nurse practitioners. This is empowering paramedics to deliver the most clinically and operationally effective response while simultaneously eliminating unnecessary A&E attendances.
Reducing seasonal pressures
From reoccurring demand spikes during winter, to strained services due to extreme weather conditions, we support healthcare systems to better prepare for seasonal pressures. Our work includes running accelerated learning events that bring together system-wide stakeholders to create shared understanding and joint initiatives to ease winter pressures. We also create and execute marketing campaigns to help your population stay well and choose the appropriate service for their individual healthcare needs.
Arden & GEM is supporting health systems to reduce the operational pressures faced in urgent and emergency care by improving performance, reducing unplanned and avoidable admissions, and empowering citizens to self-manage and make informed decisions about how to access NHS services.
We would love the opportunity to talk with you about working collaboratively to improve your urgent and emergency care services.
RELEVANT READING
Arden & GEM is already working with healthcare systems to reform and improve urgent and emergency care services. Find out more by accessing the resources below.
Maintaining service delivery throughout the coronavirus epidemic
In these unprecedented times, Arden & GEM remains committed to delivering services while maintaining the safety of our staff, customers and stakeholders.
The 5G connected ambulance – transforming urgent care and easing pressure on the system
Arden & GEM and the Satellite Applications Catapult presented at the recent Unplanned Care Congress, organised by Convenzis, to share how 5G technology can be used to better connect patients and healthcare professionals.
Using system modelling to support pathway redesign
Arden & GEM’s business intelligence and service transformation teams have been working in partnership with Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH), to model the impact that potential service changes can have on meeting cancer performance targets.
Transformation support for Wolverhampton Discharge to Assess
Arden & GEM provided transformational programme management support to help the local health system agree a Discharge to Assess model, develop the capabilities required and deliver the programme objectives. A solution, comprising three pathways, was scoped, developed, tested and implemented within 16 months.
Driving behaviour change though social marketing
Our social marketing team has a strong track record in delivering a range of behaviour change campaigns including increasing flu vaccine uptake, reducing smoking prevalence during pregnancy and reducing the impact of wasted medicine on the health system.
Using risk stratification to reduce unplanned emergency admissions
NHS Arden & GEM Commissioning Support Unit developed a suite of risk stratification tools to enable GPs to proactively manage their top 3% of patients at-risk of avoidable hospital admission or A&E attendance.
Improving urgent and emergency care in North Warwickshire
NHS Arden & GEM CSU worked with Warwickshire North CCG and George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust to lead a project which has transformed urgent and emergency care services. Six months into the change, the number of A&E attendees managed through the urgent care centre has now reached 31%.
‘Under the Weather?’ campaign lifts the clouds over A&E
To tackle misuse of A&E, NHS Arden & GEM Commissioning Support Unit (CSU) strengthened the impact of NHS England’s winter pressures campaign at a local level by developing an integrated regional campaign on behalf of 14 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs).
Reducing Hospital Admissions Related to Medicines
NHS Arden & GEM Commissioning Support Unit (CSU) designed and coordinated a detailed medication review of patients, for NHS South Warwickshire Clinical Commissioning Group, involving primary care clinicians. As a result, 670 medication reviews took place with a significant rate of intervention, to enable a reduction in HARMs.
Delivery of an Innovative Discharge to Assess Pilot
Working with the CCG, providers and local authority, NHS Arden & GEM CSU planned, managed and implemented a new integrated model of care, where patients are treated and assessed in a care home setting, instead of an acute hospital. The innovative Discharge to Assess (D2A) pilot demonstrated the potential for real system change and improved outcomes for patients.
CONTACT US
If you’d like to find out more about our solutions for urgent and emergency care, please contact us here: