From the Welsh Assembly Government
BW
David McDaid
LSE Health and Social Care
New ways of working speed up treatment
A modernised guide for health professionals outlining how to change and improve the health service so that patients get better care, faster, has been published by Health Minister Dr Brian Gibbons today (Thursday, 22 September).
The second edition of the Good Practice Guide for Elective Care was produced by the National Leadership and Innovation Agency for Healthcare (NLIAH) in association with the health service and patient groups.
Dr Gibbons said: "Since the first document was published in 2003, patients have seen improvements in the way they receive their care. It did, for example, introduce the idea of allowing patients to choose when they had their treatment or operation. This has been a major change. It has made it easier for consultants and health managers to plan clinics and see patients in order of their clinical need. This helps avoid the cost associated with missed appointments and wasting resources.
"This simple but effective change to the way the health service works costs less than ploughing money into services that aren't delivering for patients or staff and the benefits last longer.
"In the updated guide, we highlight the importance of project management and effectively evaluating information to ensure services can be planned and staffed appropriately.
"In North Glamorgan, for example, the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) service has allowed patients to book appointments with a pooled list of consultants. Surveys show that patients are more concerned about being treated quickly and reliably rather than being placed on the waiting list of named consultants. This not only benefits the patients by them being treated faster but reduces pressure on the consultants. In many specialties, this idea could be replicated to everyone's advantage.
"As a result of this initiative, the typical waiting time for an appointment to see an ENT consultant in North Glamorgan has been cut from eight months in March to three months in July.
"This shows that by doing things differently, we can deliver improved high-quality services with existing resources and funding. It shows we are using what we have more effectively. It's also important to note that the Guide has also been adopted in Scotland to help them improve patient care."
As well as the updated guide, the Minister also published the Guide to Care Pathways, which aims to show health organisations how they can ensure all services are working closely together to deliver care for patients.
Dr Gibbons added: "Designed for Life, our 10-year vision for creating a world-class health service in Wales, says that we must reconfigure services so that patients get access to high-quality healthcare as close to home as possible.
"The guide will show how services can be better integrated allowing patients to get as seamless a transition through the health and social services system as possible to allow them to get better. That is what clinicians, patients and the public want to see happen."
The documents are available on the NLIAH website www.nliah.wales.nhs.uk <http://www.nliah.wales.nhs.uk/>
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