Related Experiment Videos
Reducing waiting times associated with an integrated child health service
1Integrated Child Health Service, BHB Community Care NHS Trust, The Willows, St George's Hospital, Hornchurch, Essex RM12 6RS, England.
Insights
A child health service reduced long patient waits by implementing a rapid response clinic. This initiative significantly cut average waiting times, with parents preferring the new, efficient service model.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric healthcare management
- Healthcare service delivery optimization
Background:
- Increased average waiting times were observed in a child health service in East London.
- Long waiting periods following referrals impacted service accessibility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the feasibility of reducing child health service waiting lists using existing staff.
- To evaluate parental satisfaction with shorter waiting and consultation times.
- To determine the long-term effectiveness of waiting list reduction strategies.
Main Methods:
- A multidisciplinary team collaborated within existing resources.
- Waiting list accuracy was reviewed, followed by patient invitations for either continued waiting or rapid response clinics.
- Half-hourly appointments replaced hourly slots, and proformas streamlined history taking and referrals.
Main Results:
- 162 patients were seen within one month.
- Mean waiting time was reduced to less than two months, a reduction to under a quarter of the initial duration.
- Patient relatives indicated a preference for the new service via satisfaction questionnaires.
Conclusions:
- A rapid response clinic model, utilizing existing staff and resources, effectively reduced waiting times in a child health service.
- Shorter waiting and consultation periods were acceptable to parents, indicating a positive reception to the optimized service.
- The initiative demonstrated the potential for sustained waiting list reduction and high-quality service delivery.
Abstract:
Following an increase in average waiting times associated with a child health service in East London, an initiative to rapidly reduce the numbers of children waiting long periods following a referral was undertaken over the period May to June 1999. A multidisciplinary cooperative approach was adopted operating within the existing available resources and involved medical, nursing, managerial and administrative staff. The initiative involved a review of the accuracy of the waiting list, followed by an invitation to remaining patients to provide an option of continuing to wait to be seen or offering attendance at a rapid response clinic associated with reduced waiting and consultation times. Half-hourly appointments were routinely offered instead of hourly appointments and proformas were adopted for history taking and onward referrals to save time spent on administration. A total of 162 patients were seen over the course of a month and a satisfaction questionnaire completed by relatives indicated a preference for the new service. The mean waiting time was reduced to under a quarter of the time at the start of the initiative to a mean of less than two months. The purpose of the study was to see if the waiting list could be reduced by using existing staff. We wanted to ascertain the parents' views whether shorter waits and shorter consultation periods were acceptable, and to ascertain if the waiting list could be kept down or whether the waiting list would rapidly recur after the rapid response clinics stopped. The findings are discussed in relation to initiatives elsewhere and the need to maintain a high quality service.