Urgent and Emergency Care

Key themes

• Understanding service use and vision
• Efficient use of urgent care services
• IT as a key enabler
• Partnership working across organisational boundaries
• The need to look at patient pathways across boundaries
• Networking

Action points

• Build networks with other trusts.
• Look into social marketing and patient behaviour.
• Examine how IT can make services more efficient.
• Examine new roles and how to do things differently.
• Examine bottlenecks and redirect patient flow if appropriate or add extra resource.
• Visit other sites that have redesigned services.

Key questions and answers

Q How can partnership working be achieved?

• Through close links with social services and pooled budgets.

Q How can trusts retain staff and develop them?

• Leadership programmes can be run for middle managers.

Q What are they key challenges at West Herts?

• The need to modernise the back end of the hospital. There are still problems with bottlenecks and discharges.

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