In our final podcast of 2019, Ben talks to David Cowan, Care Navigation Lead at Conexus Healthcare, about how care navigation and the newly introduced link worker roles can assist in easing the pressure on PCNs. What are the key elements of the link worker role, where do link workers sit within existing staffing frameworks and how can they make the biggest impact?
David explains his journey to becoming Care Navigation Lead (1 min 3 secs)
What does David’s role involve now and how is it structured? (2 mins 2 secs)
“As well as, not instead of”; the importance of care navigation complimenting social prescribing (3 mins)
“Patients with a social need should not have to see a GP to access social prescribing support” (5 mins 8 secs)
NHS England key elements of the social prescribing role (5 mins 35 secs)
Starting from scratch; how to best implement social prescribing roles within a PCN (5 mins 54 secs)
How care navigation works and maximising its effectiveness (7 mins 5 secs)
Referral criteria & training requirements for existing practice staff (8 mins 43 secs)
Building relationships on a practice by practice basis (11 mins 22 secs)
Ben and David explore the challenges faced by a newly placed link worker and the training they require (12 mins 8 secs)
“Micro-commissioning” the link worker / travel agency analogy (13 mins 40 secs)
From a PCN perspective: What level of experience and expertise can be expected of a new link worker? (15 mins 12 secs)
How do you measure the impact of a link worker? (16 mins 31 secs)
Getting in touch (18 mins 10 secs)
For more information on the social prescribing qualifications and training David mentions head to https://conexus-healthcare.org/social-prescribing-qualification-training/
To get in touch with David and Conexus Healthcare:
contact@conexus-healthcare.org
or via Twitter:
@HealthyDaveC or @ConexusHealthUK
Dr Paul Bennett is back on the Ockham sofa for a second week to discuss his practice’s revolutionary new approach to home visiting. Borne partly from a a technical constraint, Paul describes how the project was started, who has been involved and how it has evolved into more than an atypical Skype consultation.
Welcome and introduction (40 secs)
The constraints enabling change (58 secs)
The role of nurses within the new model (2 mins 45 secs)
Keeping the technology simple (3 mins 20 secs)
The difference between moving to Skype consulting and a fully transformative approach (4 mins)
GP consultations in the new world and the logistical setup (4 mins 45 secs)
A whole team approach (6 mins 26 secs)
The role of tech: challenges and benefits (7 mins 7 secs)
Crunching the numbers (8 mins 22 secs)
What has been the impact on the practice and its GPs? (9 mins 47 secs)
What’s stopped the rollout progressing further? (10 mins 23 secs)
Patient feedback and a case in point (10 mins 38 secs)
Could this work across a wider Primary Care Network? (12 mins 25 secs)
Paramedic involvement (13 mins 30 secs)
Virtual consulting with nursing homes? (14 mins 19 secs)
Just do it! (16 mins 58 secs)
Getting in touch (17 mins 45 secs)
The importance of sharing best practice and learning (18 mins 19 secs)
Paul is contactable at: paul.bennett5@nhs.net
Joining Ben this week is Dr Paul Bennett, a GP Partner in Portchester, who describes the revolutionary new approach to managing the duty system within his practice; how it works, how the system has been implemented, the impact on managing demand and most importantly, the benefits felt by both staff and patients alike.
Show Notes
Welcome and introduction (38 secs)
What triggered the changes? (57 secs)
Could a triage system work? What was the appetite for change? (1 min 26 secs)
Kick-off and implementation (2 mins 34 secs)
The role of the Healthcare Support Worker (3 mins 10 secs)
GP involvement and “stress-testing” the new system (4 mins 30 secs)
How is the new working day structured? (5 mins 24 secs)
Room setup and crunching the (patient) numbers (6 mins 7 secs)
What’s happening right now? The positive effects (7 mins 25 secs)
More decisions + more patients = reduced fatigue? (8 mins 19 secs)
Perceived drawbacks versus positive reality (9 mins 46 secs)
Impact, experiences & training for Healthcare Support Workers (11 mins 14 secs)
Patient feedback (12 mins 30 secs)
Where does they go from here? Plans for the future (14 mins 23 secs)
What does the rota look like? (15 mins 5 secs)
Could the system work at PCN level? (16 mins)
Getting in touch (18 mins 4 secs)
The importance of shared experiences and learning (18 mins 48 secs)
Paul is contactable at: paul.bennett5@nhs.net