Susan Paterson, Associate Director at NHS Tayside tells us about introducing a Patient Initiated Follow Up (PIFU) line via Consultant Connect.
You can read the short interview below or click here to download the PDF version of it.
The line was set up for patients to contact the Covid Treatment Enquiry Line to ascertain eligibility for treatment and arrange clinical assessments.
Susan tells us about introducing PIFU pathways via Consultant Connect…
1. When did you put Patient Initiated Follow Up (PIFU) in place at your Hospital and for which specialty?
We set up the PIFU service in December 2021, to enable patients to access Covid Treatment. These patients were on the Highly Vulnerable list and the Scottish Government required every Health Borad area to provide a single point of contact to arrange treatment for Covid for this group.
2. What led you to consider Consultant Connect?
We already used Consultant Connect in various other services. The team have always been very helpful, so we didn’t hesitate to approach them for their thoughts and support to enable this pathway via Consultant Connect.
Additionally, the benefits around governance and mapping call volumes were great advantages.
3. What structures /processes/staffing did you need to set up to support the PIFU service?
We built allocated call answer time into our admin staff/ward assistant resource.
4. Who did you involve in discussions, and did they have any concerns that you had to overcome?
We involved the clinical and admin as well as the pharmacy team. There were no real concerns as most of our clinicians were already familiar with Consultant Connect and were comfortable with the process.
5. How did you manage to get buy-in from the specialty team?
As this was a Scottish Government mandated pathway, teams were already bought into the potential benefits to them and more importantly the patients.
6. What has the impact been since moving access to the service to Consultant Connect?
It has reduced the number of hospitalisations and deaths due to covid in high risk patients.
From a reporting point of view, the call dashboard allows us to review resource required to staff the line and the governance is a great advantage in case of any complaints or discrepancies.
7. What recommendations would give to other NHS areas currently evaluating moving their PIFU service to Consultant Connect?
Moving PIFU pathways to Consultant Connect causes very minimal disruption. The reporting elements are of great benefit, and it requires no more staff resource than for a standard line.
For further information, please contact us on 01865 261467 or email hello@consultantconnect.org.uk.
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