It’s been an incredible five years since the launch of the Consultant Connect project in October 2018, and the results are nothing short of remarkable. This initiative, which allows GPs, Paramedics, Pharmacists, and Junior Doctors in Tayside to connect with Consultants at Ninewells Hospital for rapid professional-to-professional clinical decisions, has been a game-changer.
The project enables GPs, Paramedics, Pharmacists and Junior Doctors to have access to rapid prof-to-prof clinical decisions via Consultant Connect from consultants in Acute Medicine, Cardiology PCI, COVID Assessment Unit, Diabetes and Endocrinology, Emergency Medicine, Acute Frailty, Covid Assessment Unit, Acute Surgical Assessment Unit, Flow Navigation Centre, Medicine for the Elderly, Paediatrics, Palliative Care and Stroke Medicine, at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee. As well as this, patients can now use the service to call the Covid Treatment Enquiry Line to arrange clinical assessments through our PIFU service (Patient Initiated Follow-Up).
Performance to date
Since October 2018, over 134,000 calls have been connected via the service, with an average connection time of 17 seconds. On average, across all 12 specialties offered, 46% of calls with a reported outcome resulted in the patient avoiding an unnecessary admission.
The full article can be found here: Advice from Emergency Consultants one phone call away – NHS Tayside Health Board over three years on (consultantconnect.org.uk)