Congratulations to everyone who took part in the Creating Capacity to Care outpatient challenge, to save 10,000 face-to-face outpatient appointments in the year ending March 2018. The target was reached two months ahead of schedule and staff taking part will be rewarded with a framed certificate and a small gift.
Specialties who signed up redesigned services so patients and their carers could avoid travelling to hospital and have their consultation by phone. Others made changes which allowed people to be seen closer to home by another professional.
The challenge provided staff with the opportunity to streamline services and think about more efficient ways of delivering care. The initiative has also saved valuable appointment time, which has been redirected to provide care where and when it is needed most.
One of the success stories has been in ophthalmology, where patients who have had cataract surgery no longer need to be seen after their operation by hospital staff in a clinic setting. Instead, they can be checked at a standard community optician appointment. This shift in care has saved 184 hours of clinic time.
Not only has the Creating Capacity to Care Challenge meant less time patients, carers and relatives spend travelling to hospital, but it has also reduced the need for people to take time off work and helped employers avoid loss of working time.
Work continues to drive forward improvement and innovations via the Modernising Outpatient Services Programme. To find out more about the initiatives involved in this Creating Capacity to Care Challenge, visit the Modernising Outpatient page on the staff intranet http://staffnet.fv.scot.nhs.uk/a-z/modernising-outpatients/
Pictured: Urology and Orthodontics were just two of the areas which participated in the Creating Capacity to Care Outpatient Challenge.
