- George Eliot Hospital (GEH) has signed a Trust-wide partnership with Accurx
- The partnership sees Accurx and GEH tackle elective recovery and outpatient transformation together
- Already, 400 patients have been removed from the waiting list
George Eliot Hospital (GEH) has signed a Trust-wide partnership with Accurx, the leading software company joining up healthcare communication around each patient. The partnership has been part financed by Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board funding to support Waiting List Validation initiatives in the region. The initial scope of the partnership will cover two main areas of elective recovery and outpatient transformation, including waiting list validation across all services and transforming cancer pathways.
Earlier this year, a 5-month trial of Accurx within the Rheumatology department was carried out to administratively validate patients on the follow-up waiting list, where 8% of patients who no longer required care were removed. The pilot’s success led to the Trust-wide partnership, where Accurx’s wider software suite is being used to validate patients on waiting lists, support the streamlining of cancer pathways and free up clinical and administrative staff time.
Waiting list validation
All services at GEH are using Accurx’s Batch Messaging software to validate their RTT admitted and non-admitted waiting lists. Text messages are being sent to all patients waiting over 10 weeks to determine if they still require their appointment. If they say ‘yes’ or do not reply, they will remain on the RTT pathway. If they say ‘no’, they are able to give a reason as to why care is no longer required. If the Trust decides they no longer need to be on the waiting list, the patient will be safely removed and a letter will be sent to the patient and their GP to clarify their removal from the list. This helps to improve the data quality of RTT waiting lists through the identification and removal of patients who have been incorrectly added to the pathway.
The aim is to conduct waiting list validation across all services at GEH and remove at least 600 patients from the waiting list by December, as part of NHS England’s request that trusts take control of elective recovery over the next 9 months. Already, 400 patients have responded saying they no longer require their appointment. Those approved for discharge have subsequently been removed from the waiting list.
Digital ways of working in cancer pathways
GEH is also introducing digital ways of working to the Colorectal Cancer Pathway to improve overall performance against the 28 day Faster Diagnosis Standard. The aim of the initiative is to ensure that 75% of patients referred with suspicion of cancer either receive a diagnosis or have cancer excluded within 28 days, by March 2024. Results from this project will inform the rollout of Accurx to the remaining cancer pathways.
The initiative includes sending digital patient leaflets upon referral to ensure patient readiness for investigations and scans and increase pathway engagement; collecting information early on in referral journeys through the use of digital questionnaires so that healthcare teams can make informed decisions about patient care and treatment; and communicating non-cancer diagnoses through text message in addition to clinic letters, to facilitate early discharge and improve patient experience.
Dr Satya Raghuvanshi, VP of Clinical at Accurx, said: “ We have been working with the team at GEH for many years now and are thrilled to be supporting them on elective recovery and outpatient transformation with our digital solutions. This partnership will ensure that GEH is able to reduce their waiting list so that patients who do require care can be seen faster, as well as introduce digital ways of working to transform cancer care, improve patient communication and free up staff time. We’ve already started to see some exciting results and it’s been great to hear how easy staff are finding Accurx to use.”
