‘It's not penny pinching. It's respect for the patient’
Patients coming to our A&E departments are having fewer unnecessary blood tests, after our team asked a simple question: why are we doing so many of these?
We looked at how often blood clotting tests were being ordered. During a two-week pilot in July, requests fell from 2,855 to 1,021, a drop of almost two thirds, and no safety concerns were found.
For most conditions, a clotting test tells clinicians little they don't already know. But for patients it can mean another tube of blood, more time waiting for results and a later trip home.
As one of our A&E team put it: "I feel strongly that you should use the equipment when you need it and not before. That isn't penny pinching. It's respect for the patient and for the service."
And another added how sometimes, improving patient care isn't about doing more: “It's about asking why we're doing it in the first place. Healthcare has a remarkable ability to turn 'we've always done it this way' into clinical policy; we changed that."
Before the pilot, clear guidance was set out on when the test is needed and we took the clotting test tubes off the trolleys used for taking blood, so ordering one became a decision rather than a habit.
In just two weeks, more than 1,800 fewer tests were taken, meaning less waiting for patients and more than 1,800 fewer samples for our laboratory team to process.
The work on blood clotting tests is projected to save our Trust close to £300,000 each year and is one of many ideas coming from our staff as they look for ways to make our work more efficient. By questioning how things have always been done, they're helping us give patients better care while making sure every pound of taxpayers' money goes further.
Their idea is part of 'Better patient care. Better value for money', our campaign encouraging staff to share ideas that improve care for patients and make the best use of our resources.
Since it launched in April, teams across our hospitals have been finding smarter ways of working. Our critical care team swapped two dressings for one clear dressing, while other teams are switching patients from IV drips to tablets sooner where it's safe to do so, helping them recover and go home sooner.
Improving patient care and making the best use of our resources can go hand in hand.
Read more about the ideas our staff are putting into practice.