North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust has highlighted how it helps patients through its hospitals – as it marks being among the top performing organisations in the country in meeting a national target.
The Trust is regularly among the top five trusts in the country for the speed it helps front-of-house patients to get treatment.
The ‘four hour standard benchmark’ sets a target of a maximum four hour wait in urgent and emergency care from arrival to being admitted to a hospital ward, transferred or discharged out of the Trust’s care.
In the latest figures for February, at 86 per cent the Trust has placed second in the country and first in the region for its performance against this target.
Kevin Moore, clinical director for urgent and emergency care, said: “Our consistent performance against the four hour standard is a result of the work of so many departments and services across the organisation.
“From the team here in urgent and emergency care, to the teams in the hospital wards, to the staff in our community teams and the support staff who ensure things run as smoothly as possible.”
Since 2017, the Trust has run a joined urgent and emergency care service – meaning any patient who comes to the department is streamed by a nurse practitioner to the most appropriate department for their needs.
The Trust also has various other successful initiatives including having a control room at the University Hospital of North Tees where a team of health professionals use an online data platform to track details such as demand for beds, the number of patients in hospital, bed numbers available and care home details.
Another initiative is the Trust’s ‘Hospital at Home’ service for respiratory and frail and elderly patients which helps gives high quality treatment in a patient’s own home.
Dr Moore added: “As I have said, this really is the result of the work of everyone in the organisation, as well as the wider health system in the region working so successfully together.
“I want to congratulate everyone behind this result and thank everyone their dedication and commitment in helping our patients get the treatment they need as quickly as possible.
“I also want to thank our community for playing their part and supporting us in helping use services in the right way.”