Kat James, Managing Director at Consultant Connect, shares her thoughts on what it really takes to make specialist advice models work at scale and why getting the front door right is one of the most valuable, and most overlooked, opportunities in the NHS today.
Having supported 17 NHS Trusts through the Q4 Sprint and achieving a 37% waiting list reduction, Kat James, Managing Director at Consultant Connect, explores why sustainable improvement demands better financial incentives, flexible workforce models, and treating the front door as a core clinical service.
Our Referral Triage and Clinical Validation service uses the expertise of NHS consultants who work remotely as ‘virtual locums’ to triage referral backlogs in bulk and new referrals as they come in.
We spoke with our Group Customer Success Directors, Emma and Rae, who lead teams delivering Advice & Guidance and Referral Triage services across the NHS.
It is undoubtedly proven that Advice & Guidance (A&G) avoids unnecessary hospital visits. However, for A&G to be truly effective, specialists need to manage the workload and reply promptly and reliably.
As well as helping clear backlogs, triage outcomes highlighted where existing pathways were helping patients access the right care, and where there were opportunities for pathway re-design.
In this article, we share examples of how virtual clinical capacities are supporting NHS areas across the UK relieve pressures on local teams and improve patient care.
For ICBs and Trusts seeking flexible, clinically-led solutions, the National Consultant Network (NCN) offers immediate, scalable support.
Consultant Connect’s clinically-led Referral Triage and Validation service supports specialty teams to reduce their waiting list backlogs in bulk and/or new referrals as they come in.
In this article, we share an example of how our consultant-led Referral Triage and Validation service is being used to reduce neurology waiting lists.