The Pathfinder Alternatives to Transfer Service has won a prestigious award for Working Together at the NHS Alliance Acorn Awards for their urgent care project.
The project, a joint initiative between the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) NHS Trust and Mastercall Healthcare was a winner in the best example of integrated primary care category at the awards ceremony, which took place on 28 November 2013 in London.
During the winter of 2012 / 2013 Mastercall Healthcare, who provide GP urgent care services across Stockport and Trafford and the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) NHS Trust, came together to provide a three month pilot of Pathfinder Alternatives to Transfer Service.
The aim of the pilot was to provide alternatives to hospital transfer, A&E attendance and ultimately admissions to hospital supporting the Safe Care Closer to Home (SCCTH) initiative, and specifically to achieve a reduction in patients conveyed to Type 1 and Type 2 Emergency departments.
The development of the Pathfinder Tool, however, has now enabled NWAS to work with Mastercall to provide a dedicated GP response service to attend to the patients in their own home.
Michaela Buck, chief executive, Mastercall said: “I’m delighted with the results we’ve managed to achieve through the service, and that it has been recognised through this prestigious award. The goal was to reduce A&E attendances, and the pilot service was so successful that it has now been commissioned across Stockport. I would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to make the initiative a success.”
Rick Stern, chief executive, NHS Alliance said: “We had a lot of excellent entries for this year’s Acorn Awards. The Working Together Award provides the opportunity for organisations to showcase how they are integrating primary care within their communities, and for us, the Pathfinder Alternatives to Transfer Service entry was an outstanding example of this. I am delighted that they are able to share their work through the video they created with ITN Productions.”
Notes to editors
NHS Alliance is the leading independent voice for primary care, bringing together patients, frontline staff, providers and commissioners bound the common values of the NHS. Its core purpose is to work collaboratively to improve health care within a sustainable NHS, facilitating new and better ways of delivering services through its networks and campaigns. It welcomes patient-focused organisations and individuals of all disciplines, representing them to government and its agencies to influence policy in the interests of all its members.
