According to the Neurological Alliance, a partnership of more than 90 health charities and specialist organisations supporting people with neurological conditions, one in six adults and children in the UK have a neurological condition, with around 600,000 new cases reported each year. The latest data for RTT waiting times in England highlights there are currently over 220,000 patients waiting for a neurology appointment, and the list is increasing.
In this article, we share three examples of how Consultant Connect services are being used to support patients with neurological conditions:
1. Supporting primary care with local or out-of-area specialist neurology advice
This NHS trust set up a neurology Advice & Guidance (A&G) line, enabling primary care clinicians to call neurologists at their local trust for rapid A&G. In the last year, over 600 calls have been placed to the line.
Where outcomes were reported:
- 43% of calls resulted in an unnecessary referral being avoided
- 31% of calls resulted in a referral made to the local neurology team
- 17% of calls resulted in diagnostics being requested
- 6% of calls resulted in an unnecessary admission being avoided
- 4% of calls resulted in an admission
Our National Consultant Network (NCN), comprising of out-of-area NHS consultants, can also be switched on for areas with local neurology clinical capacity shortages. NHS neurologists on the NCN can answer Telephone Advice & Guidance calls from primary care clinicians across the country.
Impact:
- 66% of calls, on average, result in the patient no longer needing to attend hospital.
2. ’On demand’ neurology clinical capacity: Using virtual locum NHS neurologists to triage and validate neurology waiting lists
‘Virtual locum’ NHS neurology consultants from the NCN can be brought in on an ‘on demand’ basis to triage your neurology referrals and/or review and validate overdue follow-up lists. This ensures that patients are prioritised, and those cases that can safely be returned to primary care are provided with a full management plan.
Outcomes* from a couple of NHS areas who recently used the service show the impact of the service:
Example 1:
This NHS area used the service to clear a backlog of over 1,000 neurology referrals, with data showing that:
- 27% of referrals were recommended to be returned to primary care with a detailed management plan and advice
- 45% of referrals were accepted for routine appointments and not requiring diagnostics
- 11% of referrals were redirected to another service
- 7% of referrals were accepted and upgraded to 2WW
- 6% of referrals were accepted for a routine appointment and booked for diagnostics
Example 2:
In this NHS area, a pilot project to clear 50 neurology referrals was recently initiated, with initial outcome data showing:
- 38% of referrals were returned to primary care with a detailed management plan and advice
- 20% of referrals were accepted for an appointment within the specialist clinic
- 34% of referrals were accepted for a routine appointment and not requiring diagnostics
- 6% of referrals were accepted for a routine appointment and booked for diagnostics
- 2% of referrals were accepted for an urgent appointment
*Due to rounding, the sum may not equal 100%
3. Patient Initiated Follow Up (PIFU) service for MS and Epilepsy patients
The Neurology team in this hospital realised that the process of accessing medical advice was often protracted, impacting patient confidence and wellbeing. The process was that a secretary answered calls if a nurse was not available. The secretary then recorded the message, passed the message onto the nurse, and eventually, the nurse called the patient back, meaning patients often didn’t get an immediate response.
To improve the process, the Neurology team introduced Consultant Connect’s Patient Initiated Follow Up (PIFU) service for MS and Epilepsy patients. The instant reliability of this service has led to patients feeling more confident that they will reach the right person first time. The system also means the helplines now meet the NICE guidelines for patients to have a single point of contact who knows about their condition.
On average, calls to the MS PIFU line are answered in 25 seconds, and over 1,300 calls have been placed to the line to date.
Where outcomes were reported:
- 29% of calls resulted in an appropriate admission/appointment
- 22% of calls related to medication management
- 17% of calls resulted in no further action needed
- 11% of calls resulted in the patient being signposted (e.g., GP)
- 8% of calls resulted in an admission being avoided
- 3% of calls were COVID-19 related
- 10% of calls were regarding the discussion of patient test results
For more information, get in touch:
If you have any questions or would like to find out how our services can help your area, email hello@consultantconnect.org.uk, call us on 01865 261 467 or fill in the short form below to request a call back from the team:
