Hunt challenges the NHS to deliver digital services by 2018

November 22, 2017 Leave a comment

Adobe Spark (6)The Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has challenged the NHS to deliver digital services nationwide by 2018 to coincide with the NHS’ 70th anniversary next year.

Hunt used September’s Health and Care Innovation Expo in Manchester to highlight the opportunity of technology in creating ‘The patient power decade’. The Health Secretary painted a pixelated portrait of a future shift in power within the NHS from doctor to patient, with the patient ‘Using technology to put themselves in the driving seat of their own healthcare destiny.’

Hunt stated that by the end of 2018, patients will be able to use an integrated smartphone app to access services such as NHS 111, book a GP appointment and even have the ability to view healthcare records online.

Currently, according to NHS Digital, 680,000 patients are viewing their medical records online every month.

In this keynote speech, he further acknowledged how ‘People should be able to access their own medical records 24/7, show their full medical history to anyone they choose and book basic services like GP appointments or repeat prescriptions online.’

Mr Hunt also stated that the app could be used to order repeat prescriptions, access support for managing long-term conditions, or express preferences on organ donation, data sharing, and end-of-life.

Hunt emphasised how the ‘master-servant relationship’ between doctors and patients that has existed for three millennia will be ‘turned on its head’, and patients will use the information that becomes available at their fingertips, ‘to exert real control in a way that will transform the prospects of everyone.’

Overcoming hurdles

If the NHS is to successfully deliver digital health services, there are a number of potential hurdles to overcome. Firstly, there are concerns over the accessibility of services for those unfamiliar with smartphone technology, or from those of disadvantaged backgrounds who cannot afford to buy a smartphone. For this reason, Hunt stressed how the new services will be for everyone:

‘If the NHS is not there for everyone, it is nothing,’ he said. ‘We recognise that not everyone is comfortable using a smartphone. So we will always make sure that when we introduce new services, there is a face-to-face or telephone alternative, for people who do not use smartphones.’

While many older people struggle with online technology, it is worth pointing out this is not always for want of trying. Hunt outlined how 400 000 people have already been trained to help get them online, and over the next 3 years, a further 20 000 digital inclusion hubs will be rolled out. Additionally, wifi will be introduced across primary care this year and secondary care next year, which is hoped will help support people accessing online resources.

Secondly, in lieu of the NHS cyber attacks earlier this year, Hunt conceded that a lot needs to be done to win back the public’s trust:

‘We have to recognise that we still have a lot to do to earn the public’s trust that their patient data is safe with us,’ he said.

As part of this, the Government announced its response to the National Data Guardian and Care Quality Commission report on data security in July. Among the initiatives are 10 new data security standards, a £21 million investment to protect trauma centres from cyber attack and new national support for unsupported Microsoft systems that were part of the original problem that caused the cyber attacks.

The role of mobile technology in delivering health services was also highlighted in a keynote speech from Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, medical director of the NHS. He said we run our social lives, financial lives, travel lives and retail lives online, so why not our health? Keogh welcomed the idea of being able to book GP appointments, get blood results or see X-rays online. However, he also recognised that it brings with it some challenges.

The first challenge is digital therapy, particularly in the area of mental health. According to Keogh, this will involve activities patients can do on their mobile phone that will improve their health, such as talking therapies, so that they do not have to visit a psychologist, psychiatrist or your GP. The NHS will have to work out how it assesses these, but importantly it needs to work out the payment mechanisms behind them so that they are available for everyone on the NHS.

The second challenge concerns what happens when people can get advice and treatment outside normal geographical boundaries. Currently, the way the NHS is structured means a GP is determined by where a patient lives. However, Keogh highlighted how already many are visiting GPs outside the area where they live. He therefore questioned what happens as more people start to access health care not just beyond their local area but beyond their regional area and possibly internationally. He stressed the need to work out who pays for what, the duties of Government and arm’s length bodies with respect to ensuring the safety of those transactions, and the legal implications. The issue is how this can be made part of the NHS, rather than creating a two-tier ‘pay for it if you can’ service.

Looking to the future

Pilot schemes are already underway, with ongoing evaluation before the digital service is introduced nationally. According to Hunt, initial results from pilots in north London, Leeds, London and Suffolk, show that when NHS 111 services are transferred online it is safe. He also pointed out that if digital health services are introduced in the right way, it will save the NHS money. He said: ‘The 6% of people who use the 111 app, rather than speaking to the call handler, save the NHS money. That’s more resources for doctors and nurse.’

Looking to the future, Hunt confirmed that the Government are trying to build the safest, highest quality health system in the world. The role of technology, therefore, is one that he believes is of the utmost importance in making this a reality:

‘As we grapple with the challenges of resources, challenges to improve patient safety, challenges to improve quality and challenges to improve changing consumer expectation, technology can be our friend if we recognise it as a means to an end and not an end in itself, and that end is safer, healthier patients,’ he said.

Taken from British Journal of Healthcare Management, published October 2017.

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Ambulance service at creaking point

June 8, 2016 Leave a comment

Adobe SparkRecent figures published by NHS England reveal the ambulance service is continuing to fail to meet Government standards for responding to Category A (Red 1 and Red 2) calls. The figures for March 2016 showed only 66.5% of Red 1 calls were responded to within 8 minutes, while 72.3% of Red 2 calls received a response within the same timeframe (NHS England, 2016). This is compared to 73.4% and 69.6%, respectively for the same period in 2015. It marks 10 months that services in England as a whole have failed to meet the Government target of 75% for Red 1 Calls. The response to Red 2 calls is the lowest proportion recorded since the data collection began in June 2012. However, it must be highlighted that Red 2 data from February 2015 onwards are not completely comparable across England due to the introduction of Dispatch on Disposition, allowing up to two additional minutes for triage to identify the clinical situation and take appropriate action.

It has been a tough year for ambulance services, with London Ambulance Service NHS Trust being placed under special measures by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in November 2015 and East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust being recently rated inadequate by the CQC for safety due to insufficient staff numbers and a consensus that the skill mix of staff deployed was not always safe (CQC, 2016).

The fact of the matter is that demand for ambulance services continues to rise and services are struggling to keep up. The ambulance service in England received 861 853 phone calls in March 2016, compared to 694 188 in March 2015 (NHS England, 2015; 2016), a rise of 24%. However, Trusts have not been able to increase their numbers of staff to meet this demand. This creates greater work pressures and stress for existing employees, brought on by longer working hours and missed meal breaks. The result? High staff attrition within Trusts. Those that remain will no doubt be questioning whether this is sustainable. With staff currently being balloted by unions over industrial action on pay, the possibility of a crisis within the ambulance service cannot be dismissed as hearsay.

If this is to be avoided, a number of things have to change. Trusts must ensure front-line vacancies are filled and staff do not leave. This can only be done by fostering a work environment in which staff are happy to remain. The over triage of patients must be minimised so that appropriate resources are dispatched. And, where possible, patients’ needs must be addressed at the point of contact and unnecessary transfers to hospital must be avoided. If the ambulance service carries on as it is, it is difficult to see how it will continue to operate in 10 years’ time. By focusing on employee welfare, this crisis may be averted.

References

Care Quality Commission (2015) London Ambulance Service NHS Trust Quality Report, 27 November 2015. http://tinyurl.com/hxdhwpr (accessed 26 May 2016)

Care Quality Commission (2016) East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust Quality Report, 10 May 2016. http://tinyurl.com/h5r4wfv (accessed 26 May 2016)

NHS England (2015) Ambulance Quality Indicators Data 2014–15. http://tinyurl.com/zf2p5jf (accessed 26 May 2016)

NHS England (2016) Ambulance Quality Indicators Data 2015–16. http://tinyurl.com/jyls6rt (accessed 26 May 2016)

Taken from Journal of Paramedic Practice, published 27 May 2016.

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The need for optimism at a challenging time for the NHS emerges as key theme of Ambulance Leadership Forum

March 11, 2016 Leave a comment

The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives’ (AACE) annual Ambulance Leadership Forum (ALF) took place this year on 9–10 February at the Hinckley Island Hotel in Leicestershire. Designed to stimulate debate and ideas about the on-going development of emergency and urgent care, delegates were encouraged to share best practice and discuss issues pertinent to the sector.

The theme for this year’s event focused around the future look and feel of ambulance service provision and was largely based on AACEs document published last year, A vision for the ambulance service: 2020 and beyond. This vision presents ambulance services as mobile healthcare providers operated in an extended range of care settings, doing more diagnostic work, more treatment, more health promotion, and providing patients with more services that before.

Delegates were welcomed to the conference by AACE chair and West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust CEO, Anthony Marsh, who called on attendees to embrace the new ambulance initiatives on offer and improve outcomes. He noted that ‘the challenge we are confronted with now [in the NHS] offers us a real opportunity,’ and hoped proceedings for the day would help influence national policy.

The landscape of urgent and emergency care: implementing the Five Year Forward View

The opening address was given by Chris Hopson, CEO of NHS Providers, who asked whether the provider sector had the capacity to deliver the changes outlined in NHS England’s Five Year Forward View? Hopson said that all Trusts would be under pressure to achieve their financial targets in 2016–2017 and that one of the biggest debates would be over standards and performance, especially for ambulances. He highlighted that the majority of providers have found themselves in the ‘needs improvement’ box in terms of Care Quality Commission rating, and that we cannot fix many problems found in the NHS unless we have more vertical integration of health and care and horizontal collaboration.

Prof Keith Willett, national director for acute episodes of care for NHS England, then spoke on the new landscape for urgent and emergency care. He started by mentioning he sat on a sharp fence between the clinical world of service providers and Whitehall, and noted it is a sharp fence. The current provision of urgent and emergency care services sees 24 million calls to the NHS and 7 million emergency ambulance journeys a year. Willett said for those people with urgent but non-life threatening needs we must provide ‘highly responsive, effective and personalised services outside of hospital, and deliver care in or as close to people’s homes as possible.’ For those people with more serious or life-threatening emergency needs, he said: ‘We should ensure they are treated in centres with the very best expertise and facilities in order to maximise their chances of survival and a good recovery.’ As we move into the final phase of the Urgent and Emergency Care Review, the focus is on implementing new models of care and ways of working. He stressed that the ambulance service needs to come to the fore and drive change, and that no paramedic should make a decision in isolation, but should have support from whole of the NHS.

Transforming health and social care: innovation and leadership

Following the first coffee break of the day, Bob Williams, CEO of North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust, spoke on devolution in Manchester. After providing a background to the health and social care system in Greater Manchester and the Greater Manchester Devolution Agreement, Williams outlined the principles around the Greater Manchester devolution plan, which include: radical upgrade in population health prevention, transforming care in localities, standardising acute hospital care, and standardising clinical support and back office services. Williams said Greater Manchester devolution offers an opportunity to transform health and social care, and that ambulance service has the tools, the players and the crucial elements to help make the healthcare system changes needed.

Prof Paresh Wankhade of Edge Hill University then spoke on leadership in the emergency services, focusing on interoperability and innovation. Wankhade first set the scene by outlining the leadership challenges faced by emergency services, before highlighting the key issues impacting workforce development, the need for suitable leadership for empowering and motivating staff, provided a critical overview of the state of interoperability, and closed by speaking about innovation in an era of uncertainty. For the ambulance service, he noted an increasing demand but lesser proportion of life-threatening calls, and that performance and quality are unsustainable with current levels of funding. He went on to say that there is very little evidence to suggest that enough is being done to support the workforce for new challenges and performance pressures, and that there is an important role for the College of Paramedics to prepare practitioners for the future.

Leading in challenging times

After lunch, delegates heard a recorded message from Lord Prior of Brampton, parliamentary under secretary of state for NHS productivity, who commended the work that is being done by ambulance services across the country, and apologised on behalf of the secretary of state for health, Jeremy Hunt, who had to pull out the conference last minute.
This was followed by Rob Webster, CEO of NHS Confederation, who gave one of the most engaging talks of the day on leading in challenging times. He began by explaining there has been a 24% increase in activity for Category A calls for ambulance services since 2011. He went on to stress the need for values-based leadership and system leadership, and that leading should come from every seat in the NHS. If senior ambulance managers do not understand the organisation’s values, then it is difficult to expect staff to understand them. He closed by noting that the NHS is made of people, and that it is the collective commitment, drive and energy that make up an organisation, and what makes a successful future.

Janette Turner, director of the medical research unit at the University of Sheffield, then spoke on managing urgent care outside hospital. Looking at data from March 2015, 27.9–57.6% of 999 calls were not conveyed to emergency departments in England. On population utilisation of emergency ambulance services the UK receives 13 calls per 100 population, compared to Belgium, which has the highest number of calls per population in Europe at 33. Turner said that outcomes of evidence on telephone-based service involved accuracy, compliance, satisfaction, costs, service impact and access. While accuracy is high for minimising risk, inaccuracy tends to come in the form of over triage. Considering the role of management by ambulance clinicians outside hospital, Turner said a small number of high-quality studies support extended paramedic roles as they offer safe decisions, reduced emergency department transports, high satisfaction and are cost effective. However, she did note that decision-making is complex and needs to be underpinned by the right education.

Introducing new delivery models

After another coffee break, Richard Murray, director of policy at the King’s Fund, spoke on new delivery models for urgent and emergency care and NHS Planning Guidance. Murray outlined the key features of NHS Planning Guidance before discussing the implications for urgent and emergency care and ambulance providers. He said it was a game of two halves: a one-year plan for 2016/17, with existing organisations as the key building block, switching to place-based plans for 2017/2018 to 2020/2021. Taken together, Murray said they offer a radical re-drawing of the boundaries in the NHS.

The final talk of the day was delivered by Dr Phil Foster, assistant medical director for Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, who spoke on the West Yorkshire Urgent and Emergency Care Vanguard. He explained how the service’s collective local vision was for all patients with emergency and urgent care needs within West Yorkshire to get ‘the right care in the right place—first time—every time.’ The aim was to give patients access to urgent and emergency care through 999 and 111 and given an improved experience with care provided closer to home. This would be a standard service offering across West Yorkshire.

Celebrating excellence at the AACE Outstanding Service Awards

The evening saw delegates celebrate the AACE Outstanding Service Awards. Sponsored by Ferno UK Ltd in aid of the Ambulance Services Charity, ambulance service employees form across England who have gone above and beyond the call of duty were recognised and commended for their outstanding service. The Outstanding Paramedic Award went to Abigail Evans, a cycle response unit paramedic for London Ambulance Service NHS Trust. The Outstanding Mentor or Tutor Award went to Chris Mathews, a critical care paramedic with South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. Outstanding Innovation and Change Awards went to Adam Aston, a paramedic with West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust and Thomas Heywood, a clinical manager for Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust. The Outstanding Non-Paramedic Clinician Award went to Steve Wainwright, and emergency care assistant for East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust. The Outstanding Control Services Employee Award went to Craig Foster, a call operator for North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. The Outstanding Manager Award went to Karen Gardner, operations manager for North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. The Outstanding Support Services Award went to Tez Westwood, Hazardous Area Response Tram support technician for East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust. The Outstanding Senior Management Award went to Tracy Nicholls, head of quality governance for East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust and the Outstanding Welfare and Wellbeing Award went to Ben Lambert, a team leader for South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust.

Workshops allow delegates to discuss emerging themes

The second day, co-hosted by NHS Confederation, featured a morning of facilitated workshops, concluding with a conference summary and forward view. Delegates were given a choice to attend workshops on the themes of ‘our workforce’, ‘technological and digital enablement’, and ‘vanguards and innovation’.

A summary of the main themes discussed in the workforce workshop include the need to engage with staff meaningfully, understanding culture but also taking change, collaboration, and a recognition of whether or not we are doing as much as we can on mental health and race equality.

The technology workshop had a key theme around innovation, and an emphasis that ambulance services are much more than a transportation service. There was a strong feeling that there needs to be better capture and use of data in technological advancements, that procurement needs to be looked at as a whole-systems approach, and that ambulance services should embrace social media.

Within the vanguard workshop there was a clear sense of the great work that is being done across the country. It was recognised that a lot of the components of a really good system are in place, but that we have to learn from each other’s organisations. There was also an emphasis on ensuring that the right culture is in place within services.

With difficulty comes opportunity

The conference came to a close with Anthony Marsh commending the optimism shared by delegates during what is a challenging time for the NHS. He quoted the BBC programme Inside Out, saying there is ‘no need to be miserable, we are winning the war.’ Martin Flaherty, managing director of AACE, then remarked on how sobering it was to hear about the challenging times ahead, particularly around finance. However, he said with difficulty comes opportunity and that as a sector we are always doing our best when in difficulty.

Delegates left with much food for thought and plenty of ideas for implementing change within their own services. Feedback has been positive, with one delegate saying: ‘Excellent conference, completely relevant to our practice in emergency medicine,’ while another remarked: ‘I think the organisation was superb and the quality of speakers and breadth of subject matter was really relevant.’ Congratulations must be extended to AACE for an engaging two days, and delegates can look forward to returning for another year.

Taken from Journal of Paramedic Practice, published 4 March 2016.

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Special measures for struggling services

January 11, 2016 Leave a comment

In November of last year, London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (LAS) became the first ambulance Trust to be placed under special measures following an inspection of the service by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in June 2015. The overall rating given by England’s chief inspector of hospitals, Prof Sir Mike Richards, was that the service was inadequate, and it was acknowledged that improvements were needed on safety, effectiveness, responsiveness and leadership (CQC, 2015b).

Of the key findings, it was noted that LAS had a high number of front-line vacancies, with some employees saying that there were not enough appropriately trained staff to ensure that patients were consistently safe and received the right level of care (CQC, 2015a). As a result of staff working long hours, many reported feeling high levels of stress and fatigue. Additionally, while the CQC recognised that staff were ‘overwhelmingly dedicated, hardworking and compassionate,’ they revealed that ‘some reported a culture of harassment and bullying’ (CQC, 2015a). It was highlighted how until March 2014, LAS was consistently the best performing service in the country to category A calls. However, since then there has been a substantial decline in performance, and the target time of 75% of calls being responded to within 8 minutes has not been met. This is something that has been affecting ambulance services across England, although LAS response times for Red 1 and Red 2 category A calls were reported as being the worst in the country. Serious concerns were also identified about the service’s Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) capability due to an insufficient number of paramedics. The result was the feeling that there was not a safe system of working where an effective HART response could be utilised (CQC, 2015b).

The decision to place LAS under special measures is a considerable blow, not just to the service, but to all members of ambulance Trusts. Fundamentally it highlights the CQC’s belief that LAS is unable to provide the level of care expected of it. This is despite the dedication and commitment that is clearly apparent in front-line staff, alluded to in the report. But while it is easy to consider the negative connotations of the CQC’s report, it is important to remember that one of the key reasons why services are placed under special measures is to ensure they get the support they need to improve. External partners such as the NHS Trust Development Authority and NHS England will give LAS access to a package of additional resources and support.

Ambulance services throughout the country are struggling to deal with increasing pressures, a national shortage of paramedics and insufficient funding. It is hoped that other ambulance services will not suffer similar findings from the CQC, but it should be reassuring to know that there is a system in place to offer support to services that are unable to make improvements required of them on their own.

References

Care Quality Commission (2015a) Chief Inspector of Hospitals recommends London Ambulance Service NHS Trust is placed into special measures. CQC, London. http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/chief-inspector-hospitals-recommends-london-ambulance-service-nhs-trust-placed-special (accessed 4 January 2015)

Care Quality Commission (2015b) London Ambulance Service NHS Trust Quality Report. CQC, London. http://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/new_reports/AAAD5514.pdf (accessed 4 January 2016)

Taken from Journal of Paramedic Practice, published 8 January 2016.

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Addressing the burnout issue

December 22, 2015 Leave a comment

Last month a special report on the issue of burnout among ambulance staff was published by the Larrey Society (2015), the cross-sector think tank for emergency medical services. Within the report, the society urges all NHS ambulance Trusts, independent companies and voluntary organisations to adopt a 7-point code of practice on work life balance designed to improve the working environment of all employees in the ambulance service. Specifically, the code calls on all Care Quality Commission regulated ambulance providers to:

  • Form a special work life balance task force comprising representatives of management and employees
  • Conduct an organisation-wide consultation programme in order to identify the extent that employees and their families are affected by the consequences of ‘burnout’
  •  Draw up and implement an action plan which includes the introduction of key performance indicators (KPIs), management and employee training to recognise early signs of burnout, exit interviews and access to an independent counselling service for employees and their families
  • Publicise the plan internally and externally so that all employees, their families and the public at large are confident that work life balance is formally recognised and is being addressed
  • Submit the plan to the Care Quality Commission as a benchmark for subsequent review at the end of years 2016, 2017 and 2018
  • Include a copy of the plan and subsequent updates, including any CQC comments, in tenders submitted to clinical commissioning groups for NHS contracts
  • Ensure all leaders are adequately trained with a professional qualification in leadership from an accredited body (NHS Leadership Academy/Chartered Management Institute/Institute of Healthcare Managers) and that specialised training in recognising employee ‘burnout’ and how they can support their employee better is provided. This should be done in conjunction with a review of policies and procedures.

The key actions were put together following the completion of an online survey by members of the Society, where they were asked to indicate issues they felt were important for the society to focus on. Burnout was identified as one of the key priority issues, with 40% of members choosing it as an area of focus. There is no denying that stress and burnout remains an important issue facing ambulance staff, with paramedics in England taking 41 243 days off in 2014 as a result of stress-related illnesses (Kirk, 2015). It is therefore welcoming that the society is seeking the support for the campaign from numerous organisations, including the Department of Health, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, the Ambulance Services Charity and Unison.

References

Kirk A (2015) Paramedics take 40,000 days off sick with stress as strain on NHS takes toll. The Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/apr/25/paramedics-take-40000-days-off-sick-with-stress-nhs-demand (accessed 3 August 2015)

The Larrey Society (2015) The ‘Ambulance Burnout’ Issue. http://thelarreysociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Larrey-Society-The-Burnout-Report-Final.pdf (accessed 3 August 2015)

Taken from Journal of Paramedic Practice, published 7 August 2015.

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CQC publishes guidance on how health and care providers can meet the Government’s new care regulations

December 22, 2015 Leave a comment

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published guidance on how the 46,000 health and adult social care providers and services across England can meet the Government’s new care regulations.

The new care regulations—called the fundamental standards—will take effect from April, and follow a public consultation that took place last summer to get people’s views. The CQC has also published what people told them and what has changed in response to their comments.

A key part of the enforcement policy is the ability for the CQC to prosecute providers for poor care without having to issue a warning notice first. Up until now, CQC has had to follow a staged process of enforcement, starting at the bottom of the scale, and so the new policy will allow CQC to act quickly in response to the seriousness of the concern.

Commenting on the regulations guidance and new enforcement policy, David Behan, chief executive of the Care Quality Commission, said:

‘We now inspect services against the five key questions that matter most to people who use them: are they safe, caring, effective, responsive to people’s needs, and well-led? This helps our inspection teams to identify good care.

‘When our inspection teams identify poor care, this guidance will help us to determine whether there is a breach in the new regulations and if so, what action to take. In some cases, this will mean we will use our powers to prosecute. We hope this helps providers in their preparations for April and to make sure that their services do not fall below acceptable levels of quality.’

Further guidance will follow in March, including how care homes, general practices, dental surgeries, private hospitals and other services can meet the ‘duty of candour’ and ‘fit and proper person’ requirements for directors. These will oblige providers to be open and honest when things go wrong and hold directors to account when care fails people.

Taken from Journal of Paramedic Practice, published 17 February 2015.

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Looking forward: the Five Year View

November 10, 2015 Leave a comment

On 23 October, Simon Stevens outlined his Five Year Forward View for the NHS. Developed by the partner organisations that deliver and oversee health and care services, including NHS England, Public Health England, Monitor, Health Education England, the Care Quality Commission and the NHS Trust Development Authority, it offers a look at why change in the NHS is needed, what that change might look like and how we can achieve it (NHS England et al, 2014). This ‘upgrade’ to the public health system will take into account growing problems associated with obesity, smoking and the consumption of alcohol; greater control of patients’ own care through fully interoperable electronic health records that are accessible to the patient; and decisive steps to break down the barriers in how care is provided.

In line with the Urgent and Emergency Care Review (NHS England, 2013), the Five Year Forward View proposes an expanded role for ambulance services, highlighting the increasing need for out-of-hospital care to become a more notable part of the work the NHS undertakes. The plan highlights the need to dissolve traditional boundaries and integrate urgent and emergency care services between A&E departments, GP out-of-hours services, urgent care centres, NHS 111, and ambulance services. Through empowering ambulance service staff—including paramedics—with the ability to make make more decisions, treat more patients and make referrals in a more flexible way, it is hoped that pressure on other services can be alleviated and patients can receive the care they deserve. Highlighting the success of the introduction of major trauma centres, it emphasises the need for developing networks of linked hospitals that ensure patients with the most serious needs get to specialist emergency centres.

The Five Year Forward View also promotes the need to engage with communities in new ways by involving them directly in decisions about the future of health and care services (NHS England et al, 2014). Through the encouragement of community volunteering, it is hoped that a critical contribution to the provision of health and social care in England can be made. It is suggested that this could be done through further recruitment of community first responders, particulary in more rural areas, who are trained in basic life support. In addition, proposals for new roles include family and carer liaison, educating people in the management of long-term conditions and helping with vaccination programmes.

The Five Year Forward View is a welcome proposal of how the NHS can tackle changing demands in health care. By recognising how and why the health system needs to evolve, it is hoped the NHS will be able to provide better, higher quality, and more integrated care to its patients.

References

NHS England (2013) High Quality Care for All, Now and for Future Generations: Transforming Urgent and Emergency Care Services in England – Urgent and Emergency Care Review End of Phase 1 Report. NHS England, London

NHS England, Public Health England, Health Education England, Monitor, Care Quality Commission, NHS Trust Development Authority (2014) Five Year Forward View. http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/5yfv-web.pdf (accessed 1 December 2014)

Taken from Journal of Paramedic Practice, published 5 December 2014.

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CQC outlines priorities for improving monitoring, inspection and regulation of ambulance services

June 3, 2014 Leave a comment

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published a signposting document outlining initial thoughts on how it intends to regulate ambulance services in England.

A fresh start for the regulation of ambulance services builds on the new vision and direction set out for the CQC in its strategy for 2013–2016, Raising standards, putting people first, and the changes proposed in the way health and social care services are regulated in the consultation document, A new start.

These changes were developed through engagement with the public, CQC staff, providers and key organisations.
The document sets out the CQC’s priorities on how it monitors, inspects and regulates ambulance services.

It also sets out the conversation the CQC wants to have with all its stakeholders in the ambulance service, including the people who use services, their families and carers, in order that it can develop a new approach which places matters important to patients at its heart.

As part of the new operating model that the CQC will use, it has set out a number of principles that will help guide how the CQC will inspect and regulate all care services. These include: the way the CQC register those that apply to provide services; the standards that those services meet; how the CQC uses data, evidence and information to monitor services; the specialists used to carry out inspections; how the public are given information on judgements about poor care quality, including a rating to help people compare services; and the action to require providers to improve, making sure those responsible for poor care are held accountable.

While these principles will guide the regulation of ambulance services, the detail of how the CQC will do this will be specific to the sector.

Five key questions will be asked of all services, to establish whether patients are receiving the necessary level of care: are they safe? Are they effective? Are they caring? Are they responsive? Are they well-led?

New inspection methodologies for the ambulance sector will begin in July. This will be followed by further inspections from October, to help refine the inspection methodologies and provide a meaningful system of inspections.

Taken from Journal of Paramedic Practice, published 28 April 2014.

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East Anglia Ambulance Service under Fire

September 9, 2013 Leave a comment

A damning report has revealed Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire Ambulance Services have failed to meet response targets every month of the last financial year.

National standards require emergency services to reach targets of 75% of most urgent cases in eight minutes and 95% of incidents in 19 minutes.

Ambulance bosses have claimed the failing of these two key targets by the East Anglia Ambulance Service is due to high staff sickness rates, an increase in calls this winter and hospital handover delays.

Suffolk MP and health minister, Dan Poulter, said the findings were ‘hugely disappointing but sadly unsurprising.’

He added: ‘These figures are a sobering reminder of the complete failure of leadership within the ambulance service to face up to the challenge of providing high quality and speedy ambulance cover for Suffolk.’

In an attempt to ease pressure on the service, 15 new ambulances have been introduced to the East of England Ambulance Service Trust.

However, due to a lack of paramedics willing to work overtime, so far the extra vehicles have been unable to be put to proper use.

It is hoped that performance will improve following the planned recruitment of 75 new paramedics and 124 care assistants by the Trust.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found the Trust non-compliant when it comes to the care and welfare of patients, and the results of a full investigation into the Trust are due to be published next month.

Taken from Journal of Paramedic Practice, published 14 Mar 2013.

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