Two HSJ Value in Healthcare Awards for Chelsea and Westminster Teams
24 September 2014
It was two out of two for Chelsea and Westminster at the HSJ Value in Healthcare awards which took place last night (Tuesday 23 September).
It was two out of two for Chelsea and Westminster at the HSJ Value in Healthcare awards which took place last night (Tuesday 23 September). Both Chelsea and Westminster teams shortlisted for awards—56 Dean Street and the Emergency Care Pathway Programme—were winners in their relevant categories.
 Dean Street Express staff |
 Emergency Care Pathway Programme team |
The team at 56 Dean Street won the Value and Improvement in the Use of Diagnostics for their new rapid access clinic Dean Street Express.
The challenge was to improve the sexual health diagnostic service to make it user friendly enough to encourage people to test more frequently, while reducing costs and resources. The solution was to redesign the screening service for patients who do not have symptoms, focusing on self-directed care wherever possible. The service was moved into a shopfront based at 34 Dean Street. The team improved patient flow by automating tasks so that patients could self-screen, and integrated IT with the latest diagnostic technology to produce this unique sexual health service. At the heart of Dean Street Express is an Infinity machine which can process gonorrhoea and chlamydia samples in 90 minutes and test results are usually sent to patients by text within six hours. Before Dean Street Express, waiting times for appointments were up to three weeks, visits could last two hours and gonorrhoea, chlamydia, syphilis and hepatitis results were manually texted 10 working days after the visit.
The Emergency Care Pathway Programme team won the Value and Improvement in Acute Pathway Redesign category. Chelsea and Westminster, Central London Community Healthcare and NWL Clinical Commissioners, supported by GE Healthcare Performance Solutions, jointly initiated the Emergency Care Pathway Programme to improve patient flow between their services.
A GP-led programme board was set up with key partners—London Ambulance Service, social services and CCG commissioners. Together the partners built a model simulating the patient pathway which allowed us to understand the interconnected impact of change on the whole system.
Rapid access acute medical and surgical clinics were developed, offering an alternative to admission for ambulant patients requiring urgent consultant opinion. This has contributed significantly to delivering a 6.5% year-on-year reduction in emergency admissions at Chelsea and Westminster in 2013/14 and reduced excess bed days by 30%. This work has allowed patients to be safely discharged home more effectively and created the opportunity for significant savings for the Trust.