8 Staff at the urgent treatment centre (UTC) at CFH have pulled together to improve their efficiency – and their hard work has seen them surpass waiting time targets. The team introduced a number of initiatives to help streamline the triage process for patients attending the UTC over the last few months, resulting in the average number of patients being triaged within 15 minutes of their arrival improving by 20%. They are now also managing to provide care for more than 80% of patients within two hours and more than 99% of patients within four hours. The UTC sees on average 159 patients a day and the team can often see more than 20 patients within the first hour. The Royal Free Charity (RFC) has earned two national seals of approval that show it’s delivering quality care and support when it matters most. The charity’s support hub has been accredited with the Advice Quality Standard (AQS), the UK’s quality mark for welfare advice. From housing to financial concerns, the hub’s advisers give patients guidance on problems that can affect recovery. The team’s work helps prevent avoidable homelessness and can reduce the risk of hospital readmission. Liz Fowler, support hub lead, said: “This accreditation means our clients can trust they’re receiving highquality advice from a service that’s accountable and completely focused on their needs.” For NHS staff, the AQS offers reassurance that the service enhances patient care; for the charity’s supporters, it’s proof that donations fund services that deliver value at a critical point in people’s lives. The volunteer team has also retained its Investing in Volunteers accreditation — the UK’s benchmark for volunteer management. The achievement reflects the charity’s commitment to training and valuing volunteers so they can make Charity services deliver to highest of standards Service manager Sobina Mangra said: “The first two hours of the day are crucial, because if our triage times don’t start on the right foot, it can impact the rest of the day. One of the changes we have made is to invest in more education for our triage nurses and provide new staff with one-to-one support from senior colleagues.” Debra Bassil has worked as a triage nurse for 40 years. She explained: “The training for new nurses is about helping staff ask appropriate questions and have the confidence to make a clinical judgement in a timely fashion – and I think that’s improved.” A ‘streaming’ nurse is now also based in the reception area to identify patients requiring urgent care as soon as possible, alongside a patient navigator who escalates any patients they are concerned about. Fatma Habib, clinical lead, said: “We’ve also been using our space more effectively. Before, if we had an a difference every day; offering a listening ear and bringing comfort to hospital wards, volunteers are part of the fabric of the NHS. Supreetha Skanda Moorthy, volunteer manager for BH, said: “We work incredibly hard each day alongside our volunteers to support patients and staff. Reaching this milestone together is something we can all feel proud of.” Jon Spiers, the charity’s chief executive, said: “These accreditations demonstrate that the Royal Free Charity is delivering services to the highest national standards, going beyond medicine to provide the emotional, practical and social support patients need to recover and thrive.” Urgent treatment centre team raise the bar for performance 9 One of the changes we have made is to invest in more education for our triage nurses “ “ The UTC team at CFH RFC volunteer and support hub teams Since welcoming our North Mid colleagues to the RFL group, we now have the opportunity to redefine who we are, what we stand for and how we work together. Hundreds of staff have been getting involved in shaping our new RFL values over the last few months – taking part in online workshops, running feedback sessions with their teams, jotting down thoughts on the digital whiteboard, and submitting ideas via a questionnaire. As the first phase of the project comes to a close, we want to say thank you to everyone who has contributed. You have shared your ideas, opinions and thoughts about what our new values should be – so what next? The ‘shaping our values’ project team will be working hard to collate your feedback over the next few weeks. Online sessions with those who were randomly selected to take part in the initial workshops will take place to make sure these ideas reflect what you said. The proposed values will then be shared with all staff, and you will then have another opportunity to let the project team know your thoughts. There will also be a chance to ‘test’ out the new values in different scenarios to bring them to life and ensure they will help guide us in our day-to-day work. Keep an eye out for further updates on Freenet. Next steps for our new RFL values infectious patient, or patients waiting for an ambulance transfer we would need to block rooms. Now we use bays in Zone C to see patients when a room is blocked off which frees up consultation space.” Creating a fully formed team has also been a key part of the UTC’s success. The team originally had two triage nurses during the day. Now, there are three triage nurses, one of whom undertakes the ‘streaming’ nurse position. Matron Tom Nettleton said: “Previously we’ve had a big reliance on agency staff but we now have a fully recruited team. We’re getting that consistency which enables people to work more efficiently. “We’ve been really focussed on making the UTC a place where staff want to work – where they can receive training and progression opportunities. Three of our triage nurses are training to become independent nurse practitioners in the next few months.” The smooth running of the service is also reflected in the team’s patient satisfaction average of 94%. “Morale in the team is much better,” Fatma Habib, clinical lead said. “We’ve received lots of praise from colleagues and patients. Reaching these targets has also allowed us to focus on other aspects of work, like team bonding. We’ve got a very good team.”
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