A report developed by the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives in partnership with NHS Providers and NHS Confederation has called for the “radical re-design” of urgent and emergency care and long-term planning and highlights the need to be “better prepared for the emerging impacts of advancing technologies”.
Additionally, the report notes the role of digital innovation in addressing inefficiencies and meeting the ambitions set out by the NHS England UEC Recovery and Long Term Plans.
Focusing on the need for a more preventative approach, the report looks at the importance of expanding digital infrastructure to support real-time and longitudinal data insights for the planning of services and creation of early-warning intelligence for systems.
Some of the systems specifically noted within the report include regional Computer Aided Dispatch infrastructure, “to provide dynamic sight of other out-of-hospital UEC resources such as for mental health and community teams, and provide early warning when demand is likely to exceed capacity”. On this topic, a case study from the North East Ambulance Service Trust highlights the benefits of the regional integration of 999 and 111 services in using the same Computer Aided Despatch system to allow “seamless transition, when needed, of patients between the two services”.
The report also sets out how the ambulance services are well placed to become “system leaders”, noting that they already have interoperable telephony and connectivity infrastructure, real-time data insight, an increasingly multi-professional workforce, and 24/7 regional or national infrastructure which allows them visibility on issues that others may not have.
To read the report in full, please click here.
Also in news from the ambulance services, the East of England NHS Collaborative Procurement Hub, in collaboration with the National Ambulance Procurement Board, has awarded a framework agreement contract to five suppliers for the provision and support of electronic patient record systems, with an estimated value of up to £20 million, to be utilised by ambulance services across England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Wight.
On urgent and emergency care, a letter to integrated care boards, NHS acute trusts and regional directors sets out information on the expanded urgent and emergency care capital incentive scheme, with details on how submitted data and metrics could see organisations rewarded for improvements they make to the timeliness of patient care.
