The Urgent Reponse programme will work with partners to deliver improved experience and outcomes for patients and families needing access to urgent care services.
Following the approach taken by networks on pathways for the urgent care of Cardiac and Stroke patients in the past, work will focus on ensuring that robust network-wide protocols exist in the following areas:
- Pre-hospital management by ambulance trusts
- Guidance for GPs on urgent referral to secondary care
- Pathways in Emergency Departments
- Rapid access to appropriate ambulatory care clinics to reduce unnessessary admissions
- Information for patients, carers and their families
Initial work is focusing on urgent care pathways for Acute Neurology, in particular Epilepsy and Avoiding Hospital Admissions for Children for the six most common conditions presenting to Emergency Departments.
In 2014-15 the Urgent Response programme will expand the Acute Neurology work to include conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Headache. Following an audit undertaken by the Cancer Network work will start on improving the emergency management of patients with, or suspected of having, cancer. Opportunities also exist to support improvements for Crisis Management in Mental Health and the management of patients with Acute Kidney Injury.
