Call handling
We have a dedicated call centre based at Chippenham. Experienced and carefully trained call handlers take calls from members of the public who feel they need to see a GP, out-of-hours. Call handlers have to deal with a wide range of calls and are able to refer patients to the appropriate medical service, whether that means passing them on internally - at other times it is necessary to refer them to another local health service.
Telephone triage
Another important role of the service is to provide telephone triage for those patients the call handlers pass through. The nurses are based in the same location as the call handlers to ensure good communication between the two groups of staff. We believe that nurse triage (supported by call handlers) is the most effective way of balancing the need for excellent patient care and operational efficiency.
Co-ordinating
Our co-ordinators work behind the scenes to ensure the smooth functioning of our service. At busy times this is a dedicated role allowing the co-ordinator to oversee the whole operation and ensure the highest possible standards of care and service. At quieter times this role is combined with other responsibilities in order to ensure the service remains efficient as well as effective.
Medical Vehicles
The service also operates dedicated medic vehicles. They all have high-visibility markings, green emergency lights and are equipped with a broad range of medical equipment. They all have four-wheel drive capability for adverse weather conditions. The main aim of these vehicles is to transport doctors to their patients.
Management and Administration
The managerial component of Wiltshire Medical operates 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Making sure everyone is in the right place at the right time and that the service is running as it should is a full-time job. The service employs several full-time staff who order medical equipment, plan and fill rotas, manage the finances and payroll and perform a host of other essential tasks.
Clinical Governance
The service works closely with its doctors, other medical staff and the Primary Care Trust to continuously evaluate and improve its performance. This includes keeping informed of changes to NHS guidelines, gathering feedback from stakeholders and planning ahead to provide the safest, effective clinical environment for all patients. We have thoroughly documented frameworks in place to ensure this process is kept up to date. This is subject to continuous internal audit and is externally audited, annually.
Service Developments
OOH Dental Call Answering and triage
Wiltshire Medical Services provides the call answering and triage for Swindon and the county of Wiltshire, covering 650000 patients. Patient calls are answered and triaged by our team and if treatments required we arrange an appointment with the Dental Access Centres provided by Swindon and Wiltshire PCT’s.
Access to Care - Read More
Since May 2007 Wiltshire Medical Services have been working in partnership with Wiltshire PCT to establish Access to Care. This is essentially a single point of access for health and social care professionals. It is the route via which patients are referred into a range of PCT provided community services.
These facilities include:
- Neighbourhood Teams
- Community Hospital general medical beds including Stroke beds.
- Falls Service: This service provides rapid intervention to prevent the unnecessary admission of elderly patients experiencing falls, in circumstances where Neighbourhood Teams are unable to respond with the appropriate health professional, in a timely manner.
Shortly, Access to Care will assist in the referral pathway for some patients
needing urgent admission to the Royal United Hospital, Bath; Salisbury Foundation
Trust and the Great Western Hospital, Swindon.
Overnight Nurse Service
This is a pilot that started in November 2007 essentially covering West Wiltshire. To date the service has been successful and it will have its first evaluation during Feb/March 2008. If the service proves its value, there is a possibility of extending the area to cover North Wiltshire and Kennet
Nurse Practitioner Development
Wiltshire Medical Services prides itself in workforce development. One of the areas where we have had considerable success is the establishment of a Nurse Practitioner Team. These nurses are highly skilled clinicians with prescribing qualifications who see and treat patients at our Primary Care Centres. During 2008 we are extending their role to include home visiting and intend to expand the team by a mixture of internal development from the triage nurse pool and external recruitment.
IT and Communications Infrastructure
Wiltshire Medical Services have created a new bespoke health communications hub in Chippenham. Significant investment has been made in this facility to ensure we provide a high quality, efficient urgent care service. Our operational team have developed a sophisticated and robust IT and communications infrastructure which we use to receive patient calls and transmit information to:
- clinicians in our Primary Care Centres throughout Wiltshire
- mobile teams in our medic vehicles
- community health services such as Neighbourhood Teams
- minor injuries units
- community hospitals
- ambulance service
- district general hospitals
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