THE PRINCESS ALEXANDRA HOSPITAL NHS TRUST

Challenges

The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, in Harlow, Essex is a 501-bed district general hospital providing a comprehensive range of acute and specialist services to a local population of 258,000.

The Trust, despite some earlier work, was experiencing long waiting lists coupled with data quality issues. This meant that the Trust was under significant pressure to reduce its RTT waiting times, so it could meet its 18 week NHS targets.

Delivery

We began our partnership with the Trust in 2016, providing 18 Week Support teams over 24 weekends. We used around 65 members of staff including consultants and specialist nurses across a range of clinical specialties including general surgery, vascular, colorectal, ENT, endoscopy, oral surgery and dermatology.

As part of our commitment to offering a flexible service, we made sure a variety of consultants were available every weekend. This meant that the patient could be seen by the right consultant, in the right clinic, without having to arrange a further appointment.

Throughout our time at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, we had the full support of the Trust’s management team. Regular meetings and conference calls were held to keep track of our progress and to monitor patient outcomes and patient satisfaction.

To keep disruption to a minimum, we adhered to the same guidelines and practices as the Trust and used all the same procedures. This ensured that there was a seamless transition between our work and that of the Trust’s.

Outcomes

We helped the Trust deliver an efficient 7-day service and significantly reduce waiting lists cost effectively. Over one weekend, we saw 275 outpatient patients and carried out 50–60 day cases.

This produced some significant time-saving initiatives for outpatients, as well as a number of positive outcomes in both perioperative and post-operative stages of care.

Outpatient Initiatives

  • Consultant delivered pre-op consultation and a nurse led pre-op assessment on the same day
  • Surgery date was discussed with patient on the day of pre-assessment
  • Patient consent was obtained in clinic and reobtained on day of surgery

Perioperative Outcomes

  • No conversion to open cholecystectomy
  • No biliary tract injuries
  • No post-op wound infections
  • 6 post-operative admissions:
    • 3 for urinary retention
    • 2 for high comorbidities
    • 1 for motor block

Post-operative Outcomes

  • Consultant-led outpatient appointments
  • Histology results reviewed and acted upon
  • Patient satisfaction forms completed
"At clinics, patients were seen by a consultant, and then listed for a procedure if appropriate, scanned by a sonographer, and had their pre-assessment carried out by a specialist nurse, all on the same day. This meant that these patients would not have to return for any further appointments until the time of their treatment."
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How can we help you?


Find out how we can help you reduce your RTT waiting times and achieve your 18 week patient pathway targets. Call us on this number.

Telephone:
020 3869 8790
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