Month: June 2018

Introduction to Demand, Capacity and Flow – 25th September 2018

Posted on by CLAHRC

Does your organisation encounter problems with patient flow?

Are you interested in forecasting demand or capacity planning but don’t know where to start?

Do you want to learn some common pitfalls, principles and rules of thumb that might help you?

 

This one day, hands-on workshop is an introduction to demand, capacity and flow aimed at staff from NHS Trusts, CCGs and Local Authorities, and is run by the NIHR CLAHRC North Thames Academy.

After attending this workshop, you will have the skills and knowledge to apply simple principles and rules of thumb for managing demand and capacity in your local organisation or service.

The course covers:

  • Exploring what we mean by demand, capacity and flow
  • The role of variability in demand forecasting and capacity planning
  • How these concepts relate to flow within and between organisations
  • Common pitfalls including the role and limitations of using historical data
  • Some useful rules of thumb from ‘queueing theory’
  • Practical skills and tips for applying these concepts within your own organisations

This workshop is suitable for staff from NHS Trusts, Local Authorities and CCGs. It is not aimed at academics and/or researchers. No previous knowledge of demand, capacity or flow is required but basic Excel skills are essential.

Participants should attend the course with a service in mind in which they need to manage demand and capacity. You will need to bring a laptop/device with you to the course, on which you can access Microsoft Excel.

All participants will receive a certificate of attendance.

Cost – This course is free for staff working in NIHR CLAHRC North Thames partner organisations (please click here to see a list of our partners).  There is a delegate fee of £250 for other attendees.

Registration – Please complete the registration form and email it to clahrc.academy@ucl.ac.uk by 5pm, Friday 3rd August 2018.

Please note, a cancellation fee of £100 will be charged to both partner and non-partner delegates in the event of non-attendance without notice after 5pm, Tuesday 18th September 2018.

For more information, and to be added to our mailing list, please contact clahrc.academy@ucl.ac.uk

Welfare advice in GP surgeries – what is the impact on GP’s workload and patients’ health and wellbeing

Posted on by CLAHRC

GPs are often faced with patients seeking help and advice on non-clinical issues such as debt, unemployment and housing. Though these issues undoubtedly impact patients’ health and wellbeing, health professionals are not always the best qualified people to tackle them.

We investigated the impact of putting welfare advice, and welfare advisers in GP surgeries on

  • the ability of low income groups to secure financial support they are entitled to
  • patients’ anxiety and stress associated with financial related social worries;
  • and, to GP time spent managing non-clinical issues

New CLAHRC BITEs offer a summary of two papers investigating the impact –

  1. A qualitative study to identify the processes by which co-located services can improve outcomes for GP practices

Key Findings

Co-location of welfare services has many benefits to patients including:

  1. Offering a signposting option for staff in contact with patients with ‘non-clinical’ social needs.
  2. Helping to address underlying patient social issues.
  3. Providing an alternative option for patients seeking help for such issues.
  4. Reducing bureaucratic pressures and time demands on practice staff.

Read the BITE

Co-located welfare advice in GP surgeries: part I

  2. A quantitative study, using a controlled comparison, assessing the impact on mental health and service use of co-located welfare advice.

Key Findings – service users receiving welfare advice versus control group

  • Had the advice service not been at the practice, nearly half of the advice group would not have sought help or consulted their GP instead.
  • The majority of advice recipients reported improved circumstances after advice (e.g., stress, income, housing etc.)

Compared to those who did not get advice, after 3 months:

  • Those in the advice group whose circumstances improved experienced a bigger improvement in their well-being.
  • Those in the advice group experienced a bigger reduction in financial strain, reduced credit card and overdraft use.
  • Those in the advice group experienced a bigger reduction in symptoms of common mental disorder, especially among recipients who were female, those who identified as Black and those who reported that their circumstances improved as a result of advice.
  • There was, however no evidence for a reduced frequency of GP consultations.
  • For every £1 of investment by funders, those receiving co-located advice gained £15 in entitlements on average

Read the BITE

Co-located welfare advice in GP surgeries: part II