Nominated for the Success in Partnership Working category of the Health and Social Care Awards 2010, ESyDoc COPD Collaborative Project Team has been recognised for its achievements as a new integrated service which is person-centred, and crosses professional and organisational boundaries.
Six categories make up the Health and Social Care regional awards and the COPD Collaborative Project is one of three South East Coast finalists in the Success in Partnership Working category. The awards are run in partnership between the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement and the Department of Health.
Since March 2009 ESyDoc has worked with non-promotional colleagues from the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to redesign the COPD care pathway in East Surrey. It aims to reduce hospital admissions and better community care by improving the skill set of local clinicians and encouraging better patient self management.
The project sought to collaborate between many local services and organisations, involving all 20 GP practices and their practice COPD clinical leads, community pharmacists, the ambulance service, out-of-hours provider, the community out-reach team and pulmonary rehabilitation services.
Initially the involvement of a pharmaceutical company was met with some scepticism but the COPD Collaborative Project report that the involvement of AstraZeneca was essential in providing management and marketing expertise, consultancy support (by identifying and integrating potential contributions from different disciplines), data collection and interpretation facilities and additional frontline nursing staff to perform patient review and staff training. By the summer of 2011 the project will be completed and plans for AstraZeneca to withdraw are in place leaving highly skilled practice nurses to continue the new model of care. A business case is being prepared for submission to the PCT to ensure their continued support and funding for the service model which has been created.
Through the new Project, COPD patient experience in East Surrey is on its way to improvement through a patient focussed service model and a better quality of life for patients who will have greater control over their condition. Winter plans are in place with out-reach team telephone support for COPD patients. The local Reigate and Redhill patient self-help group, Breathe Easy, has been reinvigorated through the project, expanding from dwindling single figure attendance to regular attendances of around 20 members.
The award Winners and prizes will be presented on 7th October 2010 in the Brighton Dome. David Nicholson, KCB CBE Chief Executive of the NHS will be opening the day and congratulating the finalists and also presenting an overview of the much deliberated White Paper. ESyDoc News will keep you posted on the team’s success.
