Healthcare professionals in NCL ICB have access to a range of elective care specialties for Enhanced Advice & Guidance (A&G) provided by out-of-area NHS consultants on the National Consultant Network (NCN), including messaging services for dermatology lesions and dermatology advice.
Implemented to help reduce unnecessary Emergency Department attendances, Prof-to-Prof Advice also helps to ensure timely access to advice for local healthcare professionals, enabling patients to receive the right care in the right place the first time.
Many of the available specialties in North Central London, including dermatology, are provided by out-of-area NHS consultants on the National Consultant Network (NCN), and due to ever-increasing pressures on local services, the ability to receive comprehensive advice is vital.
The WGOS 4 guidance allows lower risk patients to be cared for within primary care who would have previously been referred to secondary care. This reduces the number of patients needing a hospital clinic appointment and ensures all patients receive the most appropriate care.
The National Consultant Network comprises out-of-area NHS consultants who support clinicians by providing Advice & Guidance via telephone and/or messaging, helping patients receive the right care in the right place the first time.
Since November 2024, clinicians within the Acute Medical Unit (AMU) have had the ability to seek specialist input from the Tissue Viability Team via Consultant Connect for wound management at the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust.
Accessed via the IG-secure Consultant Connect App, Bypass Numbers enables clinicians to utilise pre-programmed contact numbers for local GP surgeries, allowing them to skip the queue on the public switchboard and speak directly to practice staff for same-day emergency communications, speeding up patient care.
NHS Bedfordshire, Luton, and Milton Keynes ICS was created in early 2020 when the previous individual NHS areas merged into one. Since this development, their project in partnership with Consultant Connect has grown year on year. In this article, we look at the key milestones and usage stats since the project’s launch.
Consultant Connect’s Enhanced Advice & Guidance service enables Medway and Swale ICP clinicians to access rapid and secure specialist input via telephone and photo messaging from more than 30 specialties. Due to locally unavailable services, many of the specialties provided are delivered by out-of-area NHS consultants on the National Consultant Network (NCN).
Consultant Connect’s groundbreaking technology connects clinicians with UHCW specialists for rapid communication, allowing children to receive diagnoses and treatment plans quicker.