NHS Lothian is creating an innovative partnership with Scottish Government to help boost performance and improve patient care across the health board. The partnership, which will also work with the Edinburgh Integrated Board, is creating a Whole System Dynamic Review and Targeted Analysis at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh to help tackle delayed discharge and waiting times.
The move comes as health boards across Scotland begin to suffer extreme winter pressures. Earlier this week NHS Lothian recorded the worst performance for A&E waiting time targets since the publication of weekly figures began almost three years ago.
The collapse in its figures follows last month’s admission by NHS Lothian that acute hospitals had been under-reporting waiting times. The latest weekly figures show just 77.3% of patients were dealt with within the four-hour target.
In an attempt to address this the new partnership, which will also work with the Edinburgh Integrated Board, is creating a Whole System Dynamic Review and Targeted Analysis, at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, to help tackle delayed discharge and waiting times.
Jim Crombie, Deputy Chief Executive, NHS Lothian, said: “Like a number of other health boards, NHS Lothian is experiencing significant winter pressures across our whole healthcare system. There are a number of contributing factors, including the increasing complexity of cases presenting at emergency departments and significant numbers of delayed discharges.
“This new way of working will allow us to zoom in on processes and procedures, not just in the Emergency Department, but across the acute care system to help improve patient flow through our hospitals.”
The group will provide enhanced support and resources to analyse systems across the board in a bid to improve the patient journey through the hospital.
A set of Whole System Indicators will be created to help boost and measure performance and attainment.
Mr Crombie also reminded patients of the need to ensure they seek the right care, in the right place, at the right time for them. He added: “It could be that self care at home or a consultation with a pharmacist or GP is best when you are feeling under the weather or for many common illnesses.
“As the winter chills bite, so do the numbers of slips, trips and falls. But it is important to remember that these kind of injuries can be treated at the Minor Injuries Unit at the Western General Hospital, rather than a lifesaving emergency department.”
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