Consultant Connect helps cut thousands of unnecessary hospital visits in Wales
- 17 December 2024
- Consultant Connect says it prevented 58,000 unnecessary hospital visits between Dec 2023 and Nov 2024, including 28,000 A&E attendances
- The telemedicine service instantly connects NHS clinicians to hospital specialists, cutting wait times and ensuring patients are only sent to hospital when necessary
- CEO Jonathan Patrick said more backing from NHS execs and health boards would further reduce wait times and increase cost savings
Telemedicine provider Consultant Connect has said that it helped patients in Wales avoid more than 58,000 unnecessary hospital visits over the last year.
According to the company, healthcare staff across Wales placed 127,000 calls and sent 16,000 messages for specialist advice using Consultant Connect between December 2023 and November 2024, with usage having “increased dramatically” since it was introduced to NHS Wales in 2020.
Consultant Connect’s technology connects NHS clinicians, including GPs and paramedics, to hospital consultants for advice and guidance so that patients receive appropriate care as quickly as possible and are only referred to hospital when necessary.
Brett Denning, assistant director of planned care, NHS Executive said: “The widespread adoption of Consultant Connect by NHS Wales clinicians showcases our commitment to continually improving patient care through technological innovation.
“We are immensely proud of how our doctors, nurses, paramedics and other clinicians, across NHS Wales have embraced the technology.
“This adoption is a testament to their dedication to using innovative tools to enhance patient care.
“By using Consultant Connect, our healthcare professionals are able to provide timely and effective treatment, reducing unnecessary hospital visits and improving patient outcomes.”
Data from the Welsh government, published in July 2024, revealed that a fifth of the nation’s population was on a waiting list, with 611,500 patients waiting for nearly 788,000 treatments.
Before Consultant Connect was rolled out across NHS Wales in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, healthcare professionals would have to call the hospital switchboard and ask to speak to a consultant or specific department – a process that often involved long wait times.
Consultant Connect said that more than 28,000 patients avoided unnecessary A&E attendances owing to the use of urgent advice lines.
Jonathan Patrick, chief executive of Consultant Connect, said the number of unnecessary hospital admissions prevented by the platform could rise to 65,000 over the next twelve months with “a clear strategy” and support from NHS executives and local health boards.
“Long waiting times are a huge issue for the NHS across the UK. By making it easier for GPs and paramedics to get expert advice, NHS Wales enables half of all patients to get the care they need immediately, rather than having to wait for a hospital appointment.
“It’s an added bonus that this approach has also saved NHS Wales money in saved hospital appointments so far, and these savings are only the beginning,” he said.
Meanwhile, Consultant Connect was adopted across NHS Lanarkshire in May 2024 in an effort to free up busy A&E departments across the Scottish health board.
In March 2024, Consultant Connect announced that it had prevented around 150,000 admissions of elderly and frail patients through its work with South Warwickshire University Foundation Trust, Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust and other NHS trusts in the Midlands, London and the East of England.
