Unscheduled Care Collaborative
The Unscheduled Care Collaborative Programme was launched on 11 May 2005 by Dr Kevin Woods and The Minister for Health and Community Care.
The programme aim is to improve patient and carer experience and satisfaction by improving access and reducing waits and delays across unscheduled patient flows.
There are local improvement teams in all 14 Health Boards to engage staff across primary, secondary social care in making systematic and sustainable changes patient focussed improvements across 5 patient flows:
Group 1 - Minor Injury and Illness
Group 2 - Acute Assessment (covering A&E Majors and Acute Receiving Units)
Group 3 - Medical Admissions
Group 4 - Surgical Admissions
Group 5 - Out of hospital care
The programme will support achievement of the new waiting time target for Accident and Emergency Units. However, it would be a mistake to say that waits and delays in emergency units are solely the result of inefficiencies within their own area as bottlenecks in these areas are often symptomatic of delays throughout the entire patient journey that cause a bottleneck in emergency units. The programme has therefore been designed to take a whole systems approach to the redesign of unscheduled care systems and processes.
To support organisations with patients with urgent care needs waiting for a bed the Patient Flow Improvement Programme was launched in October 2005 at the second national learning workshop. Further events, toolkit material and on-site support is planned for the next 6 months and further information available to local programme teams.
The National Team role is to support local organisations in the delivery of high impact improvements to deliver sustainable change. To support Clinical engagement and leadership for the programme there are 7 National Clinical Leads and to advise on the on-going development of the programme a Professional Advisory Group.
Two Service Improvement Managers will be recruited to support delivery of the Patient Flow Improvement Programme for further information.
The key contact for this programme is Nicki McNaney Programme Manager Unscheduled Care.
Toolkit material and full details of all national programme events, meetings and training and development opportunities are available through local Programme Managers and on the secure access part of the website - Programme Teams' Area - access to which is available through local Programme Managers.