NHS South East Coast - Welcome to our region

 

 

About NHS South East Coast 

We manage a budget of approximately £6.5 billion in conjunction with 25 local NHS organisations. We are directly responsible for the performance of eight primary care trusts and through their commissioning and investment in services - 12 acute hospital NHS trusts, one community NHS trust, three mental health NHS trusts and one ambulance service NHS trust. 

South East Coast facts

• 4.2 million people live in the region 
• 3600 square miles 
• 80% rural, 20% urban 
• 25 NHS organisations 
• Nearly 100,000 staff 
• £6b spent every year on healthcare 

 

• GOSE (Government Office for the South East)
• SEEDA (South East England Development Agency)
• SEERA (South East England Regional Assembly)
• SEPHO (South East Public Health Observatory)

Other partners include health education institutes, local government and local authorities, local businesses, social enterprises, independent sector healthcare providers, voluntary groups, local communities and citizens. 

 

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Our vision

Innovation 

Key areas are to: 

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Examples of innovation in our region

 

Haematuria pathway redesign 

The Royal Surrey County Hospital investigates approximately 500 patients each year with suspected haematuria or blood in the urine. Previous patient investigations involved many steps over an extended period of time. The hospital’s haematuria pathway redesign team aimed to change the patient pathway to reduce referral decision time and the number of hospital trips, putting the patient at the centre of the treatment pathway.

A haematuria “one-stop shop” service was launched in January 2009. All diagnostic tests, reporting and decision making are now completed in one day. The average time from GP referral to decision has fallen from over 60 days to approximately 16 days as a result of the new pathway. Patients are able to make fewer trips to the hospital, reducing inconvenience and expense, and enhancing the overall patient experience

The team won the regional Health and Social Care Award for Adopt, Adapt and Improve and were runners up for a national award. 

The Outliers Service Team, Queen Victoria Hospital  

This service was recently revised in order to provide better care for elderly patients with lower limb problems. Previously, they were automatically brought to acute care and often spent long periods there waiting either to be transferred to surgery or to be discharged home. 

Considering the process from the patient’s perspective, it was clear that it would be more convenient to provide a community-based nurse practitioner who could visit them and assess them in their own homes. A decision could then be made as to whether surgery was required and the patient shown both the merits and risks of this route.

A senior nurse practitioner was brought in to pilot the new system, supported by a consultant surgeon, anaesthetist and administrator. Her visits proved hugely popular with patients, who appreciated having a visible point of contact and personalised care. 

The service has proved to be cost-effective, reducing patients’ stay in hospital from an average of 8 days to 5.5 days and ensuring surgery takes place as planned with almost no cancellations where previously around 8% of operations were cancelled. 

The team’s hard work and innovative approach was recognised in July 2009 when they were awarded the regional winner for Innovative acute care and were also listed as a national runner-up in the National Health and Social Care awards. 

Central Surrey Health 

The neuro rehabilitation pathway team undertook a resourceful redesign of the care pathway by providing dedicated neurological beds in a community hospital.

It had been identified that there were a group of patients who did not need to be in an acute setting but still required bed-based care for a period of time in their rehabilitation process. A system was piloted where patients would move to a community setting to receive intensive rehabilitation closer to home.

Four beds were made available for neurological patients at New Epsom and Ewell Cottage Hospital. Rather than allocating specific beds, the hospital allowed for flexibility on which ones were used depending on whether patients were male or female. 

The service provides a multi-disciplinary team of physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, dietetics, case management and clinical neuropsychology from within the existing community services budget. These services work together to deliver a personalised package of treatment to meet the patient’s needs.

During the pilot 19 patients accessed these dedicated beds, with 70% discharged home during the pilot. Patients and their families have been impressed with the quality of care received and welcomed the opportunity to receive care in a community setting closer to their homes.

The team won the regional and national award for Primary care and community services pathway in July 2009.  

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Contact us

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Our partners

Sussex innovation Centre (SinC)

SInC is one of the premier technology business incubators in the UK. Opened in 1996, it provides support for the creation and growth of technology and knowledge based companies. The centre provides excellent facilities and is a thriving business incubation environment for over 70 high growth companies working within the IT, biotech, media and engineering sectors.