NHS Dorset partnered with the British Red Cross to better understand why certain groups frequently use A&E services.
Findings of this work have been published by the British Red Cross in the report ‘Seen and Heard: Understanding Frequent Attendance at A&E’.
This research outlined in this report aims to deepen our understanding of the needs of this population to: – gain further insight into which groups are frequently attending A&E, – explore their interactions with health and care services before, during and after a period of frequent attendance, – build a clearer picture of opportunities for earlier identification and intervention.
It involved:
- analysis of an ICS-linked data set
- interviews with people with lived experience of frequent attendance
- workshops with experts involved in delivering care and support.
The British Red Cross partnered with Dorset ICS because of the quality of its linked health and care data and appetite for collaboration. This work demonstrates the value of integrated data from across the health and care system and collaboration between ICSs and VCS partners to better understand the needs of their population.
Findings include identification of groups who are more likely to be frequent attendants at A&E, such as:
- People aged over 70 with multiple long-term health conditions, in receipt of palliative care
- Women aged 20-29 experiencing social deprivation, presenting with depression, self-injury, or substance misuse, with multiple long term conditions
Findings from this work are being considered through the ICS Urgent Care workstream. Initial actions include the expansion of the High Intensity User service (provided by the British Red Cross).
