Elevating Performance and Driving Clinical Excellence: the Discharge Pathways Model Analytical Tool

As the NHS grapples with ever-growing demand for secondary care from the elective backlog and aging population, establishing an efficient patient flow out of secondary care is fundamental for alleviating system pressures.

Minimising acute capacity required for delayed discharges and ensuring patients have the right level of support available to them upon discharge, at home or in a community bed, will not only reduce costs for the NHS and free up the resources for those who need them most, but also help achieve better outcomes for patients.

The importance of access to accurate and up-to-date data in trying to accomplish this is paramount.

Answer the right questions

Assessing the level of demand, identifying system bottlenecks, and linking local practices with patient outcomes are all crucial undertakings on the path to better managed care.

The important questions like “How many patients are expected to be discharged into the community?”, “What causes the majority of delayed discharges” or “What can I learn from my peers who are performing better?” need to be carefully considered and answered on both system and national levels.

Edge Health has been commissioned by NHSEI to support them in tackling the complexities of the interface between secondary and community care and improving the patient flow.

Working with a multi-stakeholder group, including academics, clinicians and system leads, and in collaboration with the national rehabilitation team, we have developed a Discharge Pathways Model Analytical Tool, hosted on the NHS Foundry Platform, that facilitates access to the most up-to-date data that can be used to address those questions.

Benchmarking interface, part of the Discharge Pathways Model Analytical Tool

A one-stop place to benchmark, learn, and plan

The tool allows systems to benchmark their performance against their peers to identify areas of success and avenues for improvement.

It opens up a conversation around what can the systems learn from each other’s experience and provides crucial insights to the national team, informing a larger clinical effort to develop best-practice for care in the community.

Scenario modelling capabilities for effective bed planning

The modelling element of the tool allows the users to explore different models of care that can be implemented and thus support the planning activities for this winter and beyond.

The tool is now live and accessible to users across all the 42 systems, as well as the regional and national users.