Emergency hospital visits drop by nearly 70 per cent thanks to innovative care trial

People who regularly need urgent or emergency NHS care are hailing a ground-breaking initiative, which has reduced attendance at A&E by 70 per cent for some patients with complex health conditions.

Hospitals, GPs and other health and care services in east Kent have worked together to identify people who most frequently use accident and emergency departments or walk-in centres, to see if they could be helped to manage their health at home.

The East Kent Health and Care Partnership (EKHCP) led the efforts, focussing on patients living in east Kent who were frail and living with complex health needs. They used advanced data analytics to see who would benefit most from taking part, along with remote health monitoring tools, to support people to better manage their health themselves at home and to avoid unnecessary hospital visits.

The remote monitoring involved people being given easy-to-use devices to record weight, blood pressure, temperature, or blood oxygen levels, depending on their condition. They also answered questions about how well they were feeling, if they’d had any falls, what their appetite was like and more, feeding all the information into the system. The data is then sent to clinicians, who can decide if additional support is needed.

The trial used a system called Graphnet NHS combined intelligence for population health action (CIPHA), which brings together data from different sources to give a clear picture of people’s health. This helps healthcare teams work together to spot problems early and take action to keep people well.

After taking part in the trial, patients reported reduced anxiety, greater confidence in managing their health and feeling better supported to stay well at home.

The trial saw:

• A 69 per cent reduction in emergency department visits
• A 4 per cent reduction in walk-in centre visits
• A 70 per cent reduction in emergency hospital admissions for the cohort.

Dr Sarah Phillips, Chief Medical Officer at Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust, Senior Lead for the pilot and Chair of the Programme Board, said: “When we looked at the data, we discovered just three per cent of east Kent residents accounted for nearly 12 per cent of all accident and emergency (A&E) department attendances and 18.5 per cent of emergency admissions.

“Of these, 1,500 patients were invited to take part in a trial, which helped support them to monitor their health, using simple technology at home.

“We are delighted with the results. This approach not only makes patients feel more in control of their wellbeing, but also proactively keeps people out of hospital and in the community, allowing them to be cared for in the comfort of their own homes, where they recover faster.

“It also shows how using digital tools can lead to powerful improvements in care — keeping people well and bringing services closer to home.”

Patients also welcomed remote health monitoring. A husband, whose wife was enrolled in the trial, said: “I think the service is brilliant and I’ve told my GP this too. My wife has been in nursing for 45 years and if she thinks it is good, then it is! My GP has also praised it.”