Mostly true. 111 Health Advisors, a.k.a. call handlers, are largely non-clinical (although there is the occasional clinician in training). They undergo 2 weeks of classroom work which gives them a grounding in identifying more common life-threatening signs and symptoms, but are strictly required to stay within the framework of questions as set out by the Pathways algorithm. Further training is ongoing during their employment and their growing experience should not be discounted either.
Furthermore, the call centre is always staffed by a mix of health advisors and clinical advisors (nurses, paramedics, midwives and other allied healthcare professionals). They work closely together and any call which Pathways wants to send an ambulance response can be checked with a clinician. Once past the initial [module 0] questions - and even during these questions in some cases - any potential ambulance response is verified by a clinician. In many of these cases, the clinician will advise the health advisor to transfer the call to a clinical advisor for 'further probing'. Health advisors cannot deviate from the Pathways outcome (known as a 'disposition'), but clinical advisors can override this, and frequently do when an appropriate alternative is available.
Clinical staff do help out with calls when demand is high and on the one occasion I've taken a call from a paramedic who assumed I was a health advisor, I found him to be quite condescending and rude. He was so abrupt, he didn't give me an opportunity to explain my role or qualifications. Nonetheless, after he terminated the call I did my best to address his request for an immediate GP callback at the scene of a peri-arrest patient with a DNAR. Sadly he went on to make his decision without the GP's (or my) clinical input and I fear he might have made a different choice had he taken the time to engage with me rather than bark down the phone.
Respect costs nothing, even in difficult circumstances, whether you're talking to a health advisor or a clinician.
4. NHS 111 would be more effective if all calls were handled from the outset by clinicians.
There are a number of reasons why this would not necessarily be the case. Notwithstanding the challenges of telephone triage as mentioned in Point 1, the sheer scale of this proposal in the face of the current demand makes the idea impractical.
Last year (2015), nationwide 111 dealt with nearly 1.1 million calls every month. The majority of those calls are for minor ailments, non-urgent problems or other enquiries ('I can't get through to my doctor for an appointment', 'my child has a runny nose', 'can I take paracetamol and ibuprofen?', 'I need a repeat prescription' etc.). It would be a monumental waste of tax payers' money to have qualified healthcare professionals deal with these issues. It makes as much sense as insisting GPs man their own receptions.
Even if it was financially justifiable, the current challenges within the NHS means we hardly have an excess of healthcare professionals to make an all-clinician telephone triage service viable.
To put this line of thought into context by comparing the current climate with that of 111's predecessor NHS Direct, which did favour clinicians as an initial point-of-contact, here's some stats to compare.
In 2006/7, NHS Direct's busiest day (23rd December) saw 25,000 calls. An average day in 2015 saw 35,000 calls dealt with by NHS 111.
In 2006/7, NHS Direct answered 68% of all calls received within 60 seconds. In 2015, NHS 111 achieved 91.4%.
In 2006/7, NHS Direct referred 32% of all cases to 'emergency and urgent' services. In 2015, NHS 111's figure was 19% (11% ambulance, 8% emergency treatment centre).
lundi 27 mars 2017
mardi 21 mars 2017
The NHS Pathways assessment software is risk averse and sends ambulances needlessly.
The software is risk averse, but not needlessly so. Here's why:
While the vast majority of 111 calls are from individuals with minor ailments or other non-urgent needs, on occasion 111 callers are not always aware of - or prepared to accept - that they may be dealing with a life-threatening condition. As a result, it is not uncommon that people call 111 when they should be dialling 999 or attending an emergency treatment centre. Ideally, every member of public would be able to identify the onset of a stroke, heart attack, severe breathing problem or other potentially major problem, but ambulance staff of all people will know that is simply not the case. As such, Pathways is designed to rule out the presence of any 'red flag' symptoms as quickly as possible so the caller can move on to a more symptom-specific assessment.
It's fair to say that over the phone, this is a potential minefield. The inability to see the patient means that the call-taker is reliant on the information given by the caller. There are a multitude of reasons why this is sub-optimal, and that is the key limitation of telephone triage. While there is of course room for improvement, there is no way to make such a system fool-proof. No call-taker, clinical or not, is going to be able to guarantee they can be 100% accurate in separating indigestion from infarction, stroke from Bell's palsy, or hypoxia from hyperventilation. Not without a physical examination to rule things out.
So sometimes an ambulance gets sent when - even though its recognised that the worst case scenario is unlikely - it would be unprofessional, unethical and dangerous to do otherwise. We cannot not diagnose over the phone, even if every call was dealt with by a clinician.
2. Call handlers are prompted to ask ridiculous and irrelevant questions.
Some of the questions call handlers are prompted to ask during the assessment process can seem inappropriate or unrelated to the presenting problem, such as asking the caller who has been speaking freely during the initial conversation if they are fighting desperately for every breath, or having to ask the mother of a feverish baby if the child has been to a West African country affected by the Ebola outbreak in the last 4 weeks.
However, even though in the vast majority of cases the answer would seem to be an obvious no, imagine the outcry in the rare cases where those factors were in play but no attempt to identify them was made. For the record, both the above-mentioned breathing question and a further question regarding skin temperature are intended to catch signs of sepsis.
While the vast majority of 111 calls are from individuals with minor ailments or other non-urgent needs, on occasion 111 callers are not always aware of - or prepared to accept - that they may be dealing with a life-threatening condition. As a result, it is not uncommon that people call 111 when they should be dialling 999 or attending an emergency treatment centre. Ideally, every member of public would be able to identify the onset of a stroke, heart attack, severe breathing problem or other potentially major problem, but ambulance staff of all people will know that is simply not the case. As such, Pathways is designed to rule out the presence of any 'red flag' symptoms as quickly as possible so the caller can move on to a more symptom-specific assessment.
It's fair to say that over the phone, this is a potential minefield. The inability to see the patient means that the call-taker is reliant on the information given by the caller. There are a multitude of reasons why this is sub-optimal, and that is the key limitation of telephone triage. While there is of course room for improvement, there is no way to make such a system fool-proof. No call-taker, clinical or not, is going to be able to guarantee they can be 100% accurate in separating indigestion from infarction, stroke from Bell's palsy, or hypoxia from hyperventilation. Not without a physical examination to rule things out.
So sometimes an ambulance gets sent when - even though its recognised that the worst case scenario is unlikely - it would be unprofessional, unethical and dangerous to do otherwise. We cannot not diagnose over the phone, even if every call was dealt with by a clinician.
2. Call handlers are prompted to ask ridiculous and irrelevant questions.
Some of the questions call handlers are prompted to ask during the assessment process can seem inappropriate or unrelated to the presenting problem, such as asking the caller who has been speaking freely during the initial conversation if they are fighting desperately for every breath, or having to ask the mother of a feverish baby if the child has been to a West African country affected by the Ebola outbreak in the last 4 weeks.
However, even though in the vast majority of cases the answer would seem to be an obvious no, imagine the outcry in the rare cases where those factors were in play but no attempt to identify them was made. For the record, both the above-mentioned breathing question and a further question regarding skin temperature are intended to catch signs of sepsis.
lundi 13 mars 2017
Dear frontline ambulance colleagues
After 12 years of responding to 999 calls and subsequently watching from the sidelines as family and friends continue to do so, I am only too aware of the ever increasing pressures and the ongoing erosion of the ambulance clinicians' lot. Poor staff support from within ambulance organisations and the lack of comprehension from government (most recently exemplified by Jeremy Hunt's 'ambulance driver' comment) continues to frustrate me as I'm sure it does you.
I'm grateful for the opportunity the Broken Paramedic web presence gives me, allowing me to keep in touch with the mindset of many of my fellow clinicians on various issues that bubble up in the mainstream media. Thank you for contributing. For the most part, this level of interaction helps me to consider perspectives I might otherwise not have considered, which in turn informs many of the conversations I have with journalists who occasionally contact me for advice and PR-free clarification (not that this relationship moderated the misguided vitriol of certain Mail Online journalists, but lesson learned).
However, when it comes to certain issues, I can't help but notice that there's a degree of misinformation and prejudice which colours some of your responses.
For example, a comment received in regard to my recent employment as a 111 clinical advisor was as follows:
"...Unfortunately, the reality is that you and your colleagues will routinely pass calls to the ambulance service that are nowhere near that serious and you all know it. I think it's fair to say that 111 is despised by many of those in the ambulance service. You're so risk adverse, it's pathetic... Personally I don't know how some of you sleep well at nights having passed the absolute dross you do to us."
Ouch.
In defence of this unnecessarily personal attack, from my own frontline experience I recall how angry I would get when yet another fatigue-inducing shift seemed to have been made all the worse by needless, time-wasting call-outs. I would frequently demonise what was then NHS Direct and also my own service's dispatch staff. Today, it's the medical advice line, NHS 111, which is perceived by many to be a root cause of unbridled ambulance service demand. Discontent under pressure breeds interdepartmental animosity, it seems.
As I've mentioned previously, last year I took up a post as clinical advisor at Hertfordshire's 111 service, a decision I took both out of professional curiosity and financial necessity. I can report the last six months has been a largely positive experience; I once again have the opportunity to directly help those in need and to make more constructive use of my knowledge and experience. Furthermore, it has given me a fantastic vantage point to see the difficulties facing healthcare provision - and they are manifold.
As such, I would like to take the opportunity to address some of your concerns and criticisms in the hope that you consider my viewpoint that NHS 111 is not quite the misguided, incompetent debacle some would like to paint it as. To this end, I have put together a few key facts and 'mythbusters' that might help the likes of Anonymous Angry Commenter above.
One caveat is that my experiences are exclusively based on my time at Herts Urgent Care in Hertfordshire and it should be noted that not all 111 providers have the same resources or working practices. Indeed, Herts Urgent Care tends to perform better than most in the national figures and I do not currently have access to the information to explain any disparity. Further, I don't have the number-crunching resources of the Office for National Statistics and all figures cited have been pruned from sources linked at the foot of this article.
Article From: http://brokenparamedic.blogspot.com/
I'm grateful for the opportunity the Broken Paramedic web presence gives me, allowing me to keep in touch with the mindset of many of my fellow clinicians on various issues that bubble up in the mainstream media. Thank you for contributing. For the most part, this level of interaction helps me to consider perspectives I might otherwise not have considered, which in turn informs many of the conversations I have with journalists who occasionally contact me for advice and PR-free clarification (not that this relationship moderated the misguided vitriol of certain Mail Online journalists, but lesson learned).
However, when it comes to certain issues, I can't help but notice that there's a degree of misinformation and prejudice which colours some of your responses.
For example, a comment received in regard to my recent employment as a 111 clinical advisor was as follows:
"...Unfortunately, the reality is that you and your colleagues will routinely pass calls to the ambulance service that are nowhere near that serious and you all know it. I think it's fair to say that 111 is despised by many of those in the ambulance service. You're so risk adverse, it's pathetic... Personally I don't know how some of you sleep well at nights having passed the absolute dross you do to us."
Ouch.
In defence of this unnecessarily personal attack, from my own frontline experience I recall how angry I would get when yet another fatigue-inducing shift seemed to have been made all the worse by needless, time-wasting call-outs. I would frequently demonise what was then NHS Direct and also my own service's dispatch staff. Today, it's the medical advice line, NHS 111, which is perceived by many to be a root cause of unbridled ambulance service demand. Discontent under pressure breeds interdepartmental animosity, it seems.
As I've mentioned previously, last year I took up a post as clinical advisor at Hertfordshire's 111 service, a decision I took both out of professional curiosity and financial necessity. I can report the last six months has been a largely positive experience; I once again have the opportunity to directly help those in need and to make more constructive use of my knowledge and experience. Furthermore, it has given me a fantastic vantage point to see the difficulties facing healthcare provision - and they are manifold.
As such, I would like to take the opportunity to address some of your concerns and criticisms in the hope that you consider my viewpoint that NHS 111 is not quite the misguided, incompetent debacle some would like to paint it as. To this end, I have put together a few key facts and 'mythbusters' that might help the likes of Anonymous Angry Commenter above.
One caveat is that my experiences are exclusively based on my time at Herts Urgent Care in Hertfordshire and it should be noted that not all 111 providers have the same resources or working practices. Indeed, Herts Urgent Care tends to perform better than most in the national figures and I do not currently have access to the information to explain any disparity. Further, I don't have the number-crunching resources of the Office for National Statistics and all figures cited have been pruned from sources linked at the foot of this article.
Article From: http://brokenparamedic.blogspot.com/
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