NHS Direct has been talking to the Department of Health and our commissioner, the East of England Strategic Health Authority, about how we can support the NHS in meeting the challenges of the Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) agenda.
We believe there are significant opportunities for the NHS to reduce costs by increasing the use of services delivered remotely, both over the telephone and using the internet.
The core services that NHS Direct currently provide (over the telephone and using the internet) cost £150m per annum and generate benefits and savings for patients and commissioners of around £335m per annum. These include very tangible benefits such as avoiding A&E attendances and urgent GP appointments.
There is huge scope, through co-ordinated national action, to increase this value at the same time as decreasing the costs of provision. We are already working with local commissioners across the country to demonstrate how our services can reduce the need for face-to-face care whilst providing safe and effective patient care cost effectively.
The urgent care pathway is perhaps the most mature of these examples and we have been sharing information, at a PCT level, on the financial opportunities to be gained from increasing the public’s use of our services. There are further opportunities for remotely-delivered care to increasingly play a significant part such as in supporting elective care e.g. Appointment Reminder Services, Pre- and Post-operative assessments, as well as public health and the management of long term conditions.
NHS Direct continues to develop a wide range of tools for patients and the public to self-serve online. We have launched a number of online symptom checkers that mirror our telephone service to provide patients with access to the same advice and information using the internet. These applications are also available via NHS Choices and other relevant websites. Over the next 12 months we will have a full range of online tools available.
We are keen to work closely with local NHS organisations over the coming months to share our knowledge of the potential for the phone and the internet to deliver more accessible services across a full range of care pathways.
If you would like to find out more about how NHS Direct can contribute to the QIPP agenda, or would like more information on the value we add at a local level, please contact your NHS Direct Regional Director.
