The Doctor will see you now: Using models to think about self-management – Professor Anne Kennedy

My colleagues and I recently published a paper which describes how we created a model to show how people with diabetes become less dependent on primary care and more able self-managers.

We used maps created by general practice staff to show how their patients progress through the system following diagnosis.

In the current system, once treatment has been decided on, the frequency of appointments decreases and people are expected to self-manage with support from regular review appointments. Seeing the model and talking it through with GPs and others helped us to consider some of the shortfalls in the system.

What are the fresh ideas to reduce A&E overcrowding? Dr Tom Monks CLAHRC Wessex Methodological Hub

Spring.  The headlines about A&E overcrowding are beginning to disappear just as a fresh wave of news reports burst forth with the NHS priorities for the next government.  We now have the luxury of a brief respite to reflect on how we can improve the lot of our hospital A&E’s before the seasonal cycle repeats itself.  I have spent my winter looking at A&E data examining the question – could the answer to A&E attendance lie in providing GP appointments for urgent – but non-emergency – care at the weekend?

Tackling operational problems in health care using modelling and simulation – Dr Tom Monks

NHS clinical commissioning groups across the UK are all focused on improving patient care while facing the pressures of an aging population, increasing volumes of patients with multiple complex health problems and the stark political reality of the need to cut costs. 

The complexity of these decisions and how to improve care is often enormously underestimated in the popular media. Take for example, the waiting time performance of accident and emergency (A&E) departments in the UK.