Case Study – Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LTHTR)

Client: Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LTHTR)

Year: 2017 – present

Procedures performed to date: >8,000

Details:

We began our initial relationship with Lancashire Teaching Hospitals in 2017, providing weekend endoscopy capacity. The service was procured as the Trust was under significant pressure to deliver against the cancer target and was failing the 6-week diagnostic target (DM01). The insourcing service was set-up at pace and was flexible in allowing the Trust to adjust the additional capacity to meet requirements. 

We are now in our third year of supporting the Trust, during which we have fulfilled our commitment to provide a high quality, safe and flexible service in order to meet service demands. The service has also represented extremely good value for money, providing a cheaper alternative to other market options.

Summary of Service Provided:

  • Up to 6 all-day endoscopy lists each weekend
  • Lists run at multiple sites simultaneously
  • Performed a full range of diagnostic endoscopy procedures with targeted therapeutics e.g. colonic polypectomy, tattoo placement & dye spray for colitis surveillance
  • All services provided by experienced substantive NHS Consultants
  • Only experienced NHS substantive endoscopy nurses and auxiliaries utilised
  • Consultant endoscopist back-fill cover provided for Trust core lists during the week
  • All lists booked to 13-14 points to support Trust backlog clearance
  • Over 8000 procedures provided so far with no significant complications
  • All activity and endoscopy reports were completed and recorded on Trust systems which allowed seamless integration of patient information
  • All equipment was used and maintained to Trust standards
  • The service structure incorporated some of the Trust’s own staff who were familiar with the environment. This meant the Trust was not required to pay for a supernumerary member of staff to open/close the unit and support the insourcing service as had been done previously.

 

With our support, the Trust was able to clear its backlog of patients and maintain its JAG accreditation status in 2019. We have also been able to provide the Trust with continued capacity to meet weekly demand and ensure ongoing compliance with all performance targets. 

Throughout our time working with the Trust, we have maintained excellent working relationships with the Trust’s management team. We communicated regularly and facilitated meetings in order to ensure satisfaction with our service provision from both a patient and Trust perspective. The quality of the service was reported to be excellent in relation to patient feedback, patient safety and list utilisation. We submitted detailed patient feedback reports on a 3-monthly basis. The service also performed excellently in terms of endoscopy Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as Caecal Intubation Rate, Adenoma Detection Rate and Sedation. 

Additionally, as well as ensure compliance with the DM01 target, the service enabled suspected cancer patients to have their diagnostic test within seven days of the GP referral, and improved performance for the 62-day cancer performance and Referral to Treatment (RTT) pathways.

LTHTR Management Endorsements

“To date we have seen a high endoscopic procedure completion rate, waiting times have reduced significantly, there have been no safety or quality concerns and patient satisfaction is very high. The Alimentary Solutions business model has enabled us to secure clinicians of the highest standard for our patients on a very flexible basis and at rates which represent the best value for money in the market”.

Mark Westwood
Specialty Business Manager, LTHTR (2017/18)

 

“I have found the service provided by Alimentary Solutions to be highly professional and catered to the needs of the Trust. There has been a constant flow of communication, including the provision of KPI and feedback data, which meant that I am always confident in the quality of service provided.
I was especially pleased that I was able to develop a good working relationship with their management team. This meant that our service was able to gain flexibility when required, for example, the increase from 4 to 6 all day lists each weekend in order expedite our backlog clearance”.

Jesse James
Clinical Business Manager, LTHTR (2018/19)