NHS Direct

Sharing our data to help PCTs and GP consortia plan urgent care services

NHS Direct has used its wealth of knowledge about the millions of patients who contact the service every year to develop new reports for each Primary Care Trust (PCT). These reports will give commissioners valuable intelligence about demand for urgent care in their local area.

We have developed a patient segmentation model which allows us to identify how different groups of people use our services. Find out more about the segmentation model.

Each patient group has a unique set of behavioural characteristics which influences how they access urgent care. We have used our patient segmentation model to produce PCT level reports to help commissioners make informed decisions about current and future health services.

To produce the new reports, NHS Direct has looked at how patient segments in different postcode areas currently use health services, including NHS Direct. For example, we know:

Which segments are more likely to attend A&E without needing any urgent treatment
Which segments more likely to receive self-care advice from NHS Direct, so that they can treat themselves at home
The type of marketing information which is more likely to appeal to each segment and the communication channels that are more likely to reach them

We have used this insight to explore whether there is potential to safely re-direct certain patient groups, in specific areas, to more appropriate, cost effective healthcare options. If you would like to access the new report for your area, please contact your NHS Direct Regional Director.

To reflect changes in commissioning arrangements, we will soon be able to provide the information at a GP practice and a GP Consortia level. We are looking for volunteers to help us identify which information would be of most use at a GP practice level and to advise us how our reports would be best structured.

If you are interested in getting involved please contact Kirk Summerwill, Strategy and Planning Analyst by emailing kirk.summerwill@nhsdirect.nhs.uk.