Pilot launches to provide x-rays to patients in the community
A pilot project at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust (UHP) aimed at supporting care close to home and reducing unnecessary patient admissions to the Emergency Department launched today – a new X-Ray car service which will take the X-Ray to the patient.
The car, complete with a full X-Ray kit and staffed by specialist Radiographers and Imaging Healthcare Assistants, will be out and about in Plymouth and the surrounding areas to offer support to patients who have fallen at home or in other community settings.
The X-Ray car team will attend frail and vulnerable patients who have had a fall and may have a fracture. Once the X-Ray is completed, the hospital clinical team will be provided with the result and will then organise the correct management plan for the type of injury present, which may involve other urgent community response teams, or if there is a more serious injury, conveyance to hospital.
“We’re really excited to get this service underway and know that it is the best thing for our patients who fall in the community,” said Anne Hicks, Associate Medical Director for Integrated Care Pathways. “We are really pleased about what this service will offer from a patient perspective. Having had a fall or having injured yourself at home, and to then access the appropriate help, and get the diagnosis and the treatment plan in the comfort of your own home or community place of care – that’s what this service is all about.”
“Whilst the pilot is in its infancy, we are aiming for 3 to 5 patients a day. In turn, that is 3 to 5 more ambulances on the road each day, out in the community responding to emergencies. We do not have anything like this at the moment, so for patients, it means that they can avoid the additional processes they experience when admitted into hospital, and when they leave.”
Last year, approximately 2000 patients over the age of 55 attended the Emergency Department at UHP and were found not to have suffered a fracture. Nearly 1,300 of those patients came by ambulance with 1,000 further admitted into the hospital. The X-Ray car service aims to reduce these numbers and enable capacity for other patients at Derriford Hospital.
“It is wonderful to see our colleagues start to offer this service to our local patients and see the benefits this will bring for our patients in the community,” said Rachel O’Connor, Director of Integrated Care, Partnerships and Strategy at UHP. “It is really important that we are introducing ways for patients to be treated in their homes or places of residence and continue to support their independence and care closer to home.
“It’s a big difference for Radiographers to provide accurate scans for those who are frail and vulnerable and provide the expertise in the community to treat people in their own homes. The pilot is a step forward in bringing our care to where people live, providing early intervention and supporting, and preventing when not necessary, onward journeys to hospital. We believe this will be a much better experience for our patients and improve their outcomes and recovery. I am really thankful to our colleagues and partners for enabling this pilot to get off the ground.”
This pilot is an example of the local NHS continuing to look at community interventions, ensuring patients are supported to remain independent for longer. It is supported by Livewell Southwest’s Urgent Community Response team, and under the oversight of the Acute GP and Virtual Ward service at UHP, with assistance from Southwest Ambulance Services (SWASFT).
