This is a summary of our current focus:
Older Persons Assessment and Liason (OPAL) Service
There are growing demands on elderly care services due to the increasing elderly care population, a business case has been drafted which proposes that an Older Persons Assessment and Liaison (OPAL) service is implemented to ensure all unscheduled care frail elderly patients receive a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA).
The purpose of a CGA is to focus on determining patients medical, psychological and functional capability to develop a co-ordinated treatment plan that in most cases can be provided within the patient’s home .
CGA improves outcomes for older people in various settings, including reduced mortality or deterioration, improved cognition, improved quality of life, reduced length of stay, reduced readmissions rates, reduced long term care use and reduced costs
CGA can be delivered by an Older Persons Assessment and Liaison (OPAL) team consisting of:
- Consultant Geriatrician
- Physiotherapist
- Occupational Therapist
- Specialist nurse.
The OPAL team would be based in emergency department and acute care units to provide CGA to frail older patients at the earliest opportunity after their presentation to the hospital.
Contact: , Associate Director - Programme Management & Service Improvement
Musculoskeletal Project (MSK)
With the move to focus on a clinically led commissioning group, MSK has been prioritised by NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (GCCG) as the first programme to be developed within the county.
A cross organisational programme project group has been set up to deliver a clinical programme approach to pathway redesign.
It is anticipated that this work will help to manage:
- significant pressures in the delivery of the national 18 week referral to treatment times
- current issues with fragmented service provision
Contact: , Musculoskeletal Project Manager
Service Line Management (SLM)
This programme is to implement service line reporting and Service Line Management across the Trust.
The programme consists of four key projects; Service Line Reporting, Business Processes, Organisation Development and Business Intelligence reporting.
Contact: , Associate Director - Programme Management & Service Improvement
Saving & Efficiency Programme
The Programme Management Office provides support to the Director of Finance and Savings Board to help shape and support delivery of the Trust’s annual savings and efficiency programme.
From 2011/12 this includes working with NHS Gloucestershire to influence the design and implementation of Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) schemes.
Workstreams being led by the Programme Office this year include: Unscheduled Care, Planned Care & Workforce redesign.
Improving Quality and Living Within our Means (staff intranet link)
Contact: , Associate Director - Programme Management & Service Improvement
Radiotherapy at Hereford
In January 2010 approval was given for a Satellite Radiotherapy Unit to be built on the Hereford County Hospital site. The Unit, managed and staffed by Gloucestershire NHS Foundation Trust, will predominantly serve the population of Herefordshire and Powys, with the hope of eliminating the well documented ‘Misery Miles’ which some patients who require radiotherapy treatment currently experience. The project is now up and running, with an appointed contractor (Balfour Beatty) and an anticipated ‘open to patients’ date of April 2013.
Contact: , Associate Director - Programme Management & Service Improvement
Site Reconfiguration
This programme involves planning and implementing changes to the distribution of specialist services across the Trust’s two main hospital sites: Cheltenham General Hospital and Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. Each of the changes is driven by increasing clinical standards and the need to make best use of limited money.
Specialist services location changes 2011-2012
Contact: , Programme Manager
Administration and Clerical Review
In June 2011 a project was launched into reviewing Administration and Clerical support to the Clinical Divisions. The A&C Project is one of a series of workforce redesign projects underway across the organisation and seeks to review the way in which we work to identify whether efficiencies and improvements could be delivered.
Find out more.(Staff intranet link)
Contact: , Programme Manager
E-Rostering
This project is rolling out a system of electronic rostering across the Trust's wards.
E-rostering will enable nursing rosters to be created in a more efficient way, with an equitable approach to allocating shifts and ensure maximum deployment of staff to their full contractual hours and shifts required. The system allows nurses to request 'off duty' on-line from work or home and will reduce spending on bank and agency staff.
Contact: , Programme Manager
PAS+
Linking directly with the Trust's Patient Administration System (PAS), PAS+ is an IT system which can display real-time bed management information. Admissions, Discharges and Transfers can be entered in real-time, helping the Bed Management Team to allocate and manage emergency and elective beds. The roll-out of PAS+ has started and will provide the hospitals' wards with large whiteboards which will be used to give ‘at a glance’ information to clinical staff. All information on PAS+ can be audited and monitored, giving the Trust the ability to identify delays in patient pathways.
Contact: , Project Manager
Outpatient Clinic Letters
The aim of this project is to ensure that, as far as practicable, all clinic letters are produced using the Infoflex system and that structured formats are used by all specialties where possible. Those specialties that have their own systems, ED, Oncology abd Retinal letters in Ophthalmology will continue with their current practice.
Contact: , Project Manager
Doctor's Pocket
Audit evidence highlighted an opportunity to improve compliance with Pharmacy protocols (including prescribing guidelines and formulary choice). One of the means to tackle this issue is by improving access to and awareness of the protocols for junior medical staff and other prescribers.
Doctor's Pocket is a mobile web page allowing clinicians to access guidelines via their smartphone at a patient's bedside. The initial idea for the site was conceived by Dr Ben Huntley and has already been trialled among junior doctors.
The mobile site will be promoted among the new intake of F1 doctors joining the Trust shortly (July 2012).
Visit the Doctor's Pocket intranet page. (Staff intranet link)
Contact: , Programme Manager
Telehealth
Telehealth is the remote monitoring of a patient's vital signs, health and well-being, helping patients understand and self-manage their condition and help provide information back to clinicians. By having more information available it is hoped this will highlight the need for intervention earlier and reduce emergency hospital admissions by dealing with problems before any exacerbation progresses too far.
Large scale Telehealth is being implemented by NHS Gloucestershire but there are opportunities within the Trust. Visit the Telehealth page for more detail.
Contact: , Programme Manager
Providing patients with copies of their letters
The NHS Constitution 2010 pledges that all patients should be able to receive copies of correspondence sent between clinicians about their care. This project is establishing the processes for a patient to 'opt-in' to receiving copies of letters sent from the hospital to their GP after outpatient appointments and any stay in hospital. Further information.