NHS Innovation Challenge success
I’m delighted to share the news that a team based with Jeremy Bland at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust has won an NHS Innovation Challenge prize for diagnostics.
The award is for their work on carpal tunnel syndrome. The team has created an innovative and authoritative website which actively supports diagnosis and provides a way of tracking and recording symptom severity and response to treatment. The carpal tunnel innovation reduces demand for elective surgery and so helps deliver QIPP alongside patient benefits. Have a look here to find out more.
Our congratulations go to everyone involved. We are arranging to work with them to extend the development, spread and adoption of the project and will keep you posted.
HSJ award winners!
No shortage of good news from KSS this week – Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust are also celebrating their success at the HSJ awards. They triumphed in the Clinical Research Impact category “Empowering patients to make decisions about research participation”. With over 1,100 entries, their success really is a significant achievement and we offer our congratulations to the Research and Development team led by Dr Mark Hayward.
There’s more information about their winning entry here.
Research plans enhanced
Kent Surrey Sussex Academic Health Science Network (KSS AHSN) is extending its enhancing research programme. This follows a meeting of our recent transition board and will see us setting up a research working group to address four key themes.
These are:
-
revisiting the CLAHRC bid
- supporting the work to secure CTU accreditation in 2015
- building health and social care research capacity and exploring educational opportunities for Chief Investigators and Principal Investigators with HE KSS
- supporting NIHR and CRN goals and objectives.
KSS AHSN signs contract
Great news that we signed our contract with NHS England last week. We were the first AHSN in the country to do so and this gives us encouragement and momentum to extend our research programme, launch our focused point of access for industry in the New Year and continue with our patient services improvement work.
Publications
COPD Pathway
COPD patient pathway published by the British Lung Foundation.
‘Avoidable’ emergency admissions on the rise
This year’s State of Care report looks at the pressures on accident and emergency services due to an increase of admissions for ‘avoidable’ conditions.
A guide to establishing nursing, midwifery and care staffing capacity and capability
The National Quality Board has published a guide to establishing nursing, midwifery and care staffing capacity and capability which aims to support providers and commissioners in making the right decisions about nursing, midwifery and care staffing capacity and capability.
Events
Health and Care Innovation Expo 2014
News
Figures show more than half of patients don’t need to be in A&E
Figures published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) reveal an increased demand for A&E services, particularly in winter, with almost half of patients not receiving any treatment. Between 2012/13 there were almost 22 million attendances – a rise of 11 per cent in four years. Out of those, 34 per cent left after being given advice about a health concern and 13 per cent received no treatment at all. The majority of the patients attend between 9am and 6pm, which Dr Cliff Mann of the College of Emergency Medicine says is down to patients thinking it’s more convenient to wait in A&E, rather than to visit their GP.
The figures also show the majority of patients are being admitted to hospital or sent home during the last 10 minutes of the four hour target window. Julia Manning, of the think-tank 2020, says: “This is really worrying – it confirms our fears that the pressure to hit targets means staff are watching the clock, not the patient in front of them.”