New research could significantly reduce overcrowding in emergency departments – potentially saving the NHS millions of pounds.
In a collaborative project between University Hospitals of North Midlands (UHNM) NHS Trust and Staffordshire University, experts have developed a prediction model to identify patients most at risk of taking up hospital beds longer than needed.
Dr Andrew Davy, GP Lead for Research and Development in A&E at UHNM, explained: “A delayed transfer of care occurs when an adult inpatient is medically ready to go home but is unable to because other necessary care, support or accommodation is unavailable.” He continued: “It also has a knock-on effect on patients in A&E departments who cannot move into ward beds until current patients are discharged. This bottleneck effect on flow causes significant overcrowding within emergency departments and other emergency portals, which results in increased mortality, poor patient outcomes and significantly higher consumption of hospital resources.”
The prediction model and digital toolkit is currently being piloted at Royal Stoke University Hospital and the researchers believe that eventually, this predictive model could easily be rolled out across the country.