The good practice is not new. It was recommended in Bruce Keogh’s Safer, Faster, Better: Transforming urgent and emergency care services in England.1 It features guidance from the Royal Colleges, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), specialist societies and from publications by the Nuffield Trust and King’s Fund.
We know it works. Where implemented effectively by well-led teams using effective improvement techniques, hospitals have seen real benefits to patient outcomes and staff satisfaction. Hospital crowding reduces. Emergency departments (EDs) decongest. Mortality falls. Harm is reduced. Staff feel less pressured.
Implementing the good practice in all 10 areas will have a positive, cumulative effect on improving patient flow. Implementing it piecemeal will be much less effective.
This guide focuses on acute hospital care but should be considered within the context of collaboration and effective collective leadership across whole health and social care systems. While it captures and brings together existing good practice, implementation will need to be tailored to local circumstances. Therefore, we have taken a balanced approach and tried not to be overly prescriptive.
This guide is aimed at senior operational and clinical staff and especially medical directors, nursing directors and chief operating officers. Clinical teams will benefit from a concise guide that highlights priorities for patient care.
Together we can make a difference.
You can find the full guidance here