17th May 2019

Urgent care streaming was introduced to A&E departments across the county in 2018. This new service allows us to direct patients when they arrive in A&E, with a clinician assessing their needs and deciding where they can receive the most appropriate care.

Wherever suitable, patients are seen by a GP or nurse, which is relieving some of the pressure in the emergency departments. Patients are immediately returned to the A&E service if required.

This collaborative work between Lincolnshire Community Health Services and acute services ensures patients receive the most appropriate care and have the best outcomes – patient safety is paramount.

Figures from the Easter period demonstrate how well the Urgent Care Streaming service is working; a total of 356 patients were streamed between Good Friday and Easter Monday at Boston and Lincoln hospitals (this accounted for 41% of the total people presenting in Boston and 33% in Lincoln).

Boston returned 4.9% to A&E and Lincoln returned 1.6% which highlights that the majority of attendees were able to be cared for successfully by alternative health care clinicians reducing pressure on emergency department staff dealing with patients most in need. 

These figures highlight significant success with over a third of patients streamed during operational hours, which is an excellent result for both hospital staff and those needing access to the most appropriate health service.

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