Winner

Whittington Health Trust: eCommunity

Growing demand on district nursing services run by Whittington Health Trust had led to demand exceeding capacity, multiple moved appointment times for patients and long distances between allocated visits. The eCommunity project aimed to maximise efficiency through using software to allocate patients and appointments to nurses – for example, moving some work which was not time-dependent to quieter days.

Unallocated district nurses’ time fell from 500 to 50 hours within one month. There was also a reduction in missed visits, and improvement in skill mix and locality allocation, to ensure that the nurse visiting the patient has the necessary skills to attend to their care.

It has freed up time for more senior staff to assist in care for more complex patients. There have been financial benefits, including an annual saving of £310,000 from improved productivity. The system used is currently being demonstrated to other community providers who are looking to implement this model.

Read a detailed case study about this project at HSJ Solutions  

Finalists

  • Bradford District Care Foundation Trust: Redesign of Children’s Service within Braford and Airedale Children’s Community Health Services
  • Cornwall Partnership FT: Relieving the Pressure
  • Croydon GP Collaborative: Primary Care MSK Pilot
  • Pennine Care FT: Children’s Acute and Ongoing Needs Service, Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale
  • Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Partnership Trust: The development of a District Nursing Caseload Review Tool
  • Swindon Borough Council and Great Western Hospital FT: Reablement and Fessey House
  • The Hillingdon Hospital FT: Hillingdon Children’s Asthma Service 
  • West Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group: Listening to patients and improving access to audiology