Royal Victoria Infirmary Unit saves NHS millions of pounds
A study by Newcastle University researchers has shown that a unique out-patient hospital facility for older patients has provided enormous savings for the NHS - equivalent to freeing up a whole ward for a year.
The University research, funded by The Wellcome Trust, showed the RVI unit helped relieve pressure on accident and emergency services, saving the NHS about £2.5m per year.
Syncope,
collapse and falls
These are the commonest reasons for older adults to attend the accident
and emergency (A&E) department - accounting for up to 45 per cent
of all older patients - and are a major financial burden on the NHS. Each
year 35 per cent of adults aged over 65 and 45 per cent of adults over
80 years old suffer at least once, with 10 per cent of these being incidents
which result in a bone fracture.
The RVI day case facility, in Newcastle upon Tyne, was set up in 1991 to provide older patients with rapid access to hospital treatment after suffering syncope and collapse events, and is the only one in the UK. A&E doctors can refer the patients to the facility, where they are seen within the week. Three consultants see 3,500 patients each year, and there are 1,500 new admissions annually. GPs and other health services specialists are also able to refer their patients to the unit. The study, published in the current edition of the academic journal, Age and Ageing, was led by Rose Anne Kenny, professor of cardiovascular research with Newcastle University's Institute for Ageing and Health. It compared the RVI's records for people diagnosed with syncope and collapse in 1999 with those in 1990 before the facility opened. It also made comparisons with 13 similar hospitals across the UK, concluding that the RVI's day case facility had relieved substantial pressure on emergency admissions. |
And yet more honours:
Prof Kenny’s comment was: “We’ve had a lovely week”!
|
At the RVI, 35 per cent of syncope and collapse patients were treated as emergencies during 1999, compared to 97 per cent at the other hospitals. Compared to the other UK hospitals, the RVI used 6616 less 'bed days' during 1999 and had an average length of stay of 2.4 days for syncope and collapse patients compared with 8.6 at the other institutions and 10.9 days at the RVI in 1990.
Further analysis showed that 15 times more resources were needed to treat the syncope and falls patients in other hospitals compared with the day case facility. Prof Kenny, who is also the director of the day case facility, said, "This research also shows the enormous savings to acute hospital beds and has major implications for bed shortages which currently bedevil the health service. “Rapid access to this service for accident and emergency staff, admitting teams, general practitioners and consultant colleagues is critical for the beneficial impact on emergency activity and performance. |
Success stories from the Royal Victoria Infirmary Retired hotel porter Alfred Laws, 74, from Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, started having blackouts several years ago and had to give up his job. Doctors originally said he had epilepsy. But Mr Laws, a grandfather, then saw Professor Rose Anne Kenny of Newcastle University and the Royal Victoria Infirmary Unit and was diagnosed with heart problems. He was given a pacemaker and he’s now feeling fit and well. Golf lover Allan Todd, 63, from Scarborough, spent 40 years and saw over 20 doctors before he was diagnosed with heart problems at Newcastle. From the age of 23, Allan would dread going to bed as he would faint every time he was woken up by a sudden sound, such as the doorbell or his alarm clock. Tests showed his heart would stop for several seconds and he was said to be clinically dead – but nobody knew what was really the matter until the doctors in Newcastle pinpointed the problem. Allan, a patient of Professor Rose Anne Kenny of Newcastle University and the Royal Victoria Infirmary, has now been fitted with a pacemaker and is back on the golf course. |
| “It also benefits the patients. Before the facility opened, many of these people were never fully investigated. Now they are fully investigated, with tests on both their nervous system and their cardiovascular system. The doctors in A&E discharge them knowing that they will be seen quickly by appropriate specialists within the week, at which time at least 70% of people are provided with a treatable diagnosis. | For further information: Copies of the paper, Impact of a dedicated falls facility for older adults on emergency beds, are available from the University Press Office. Contact Claire Jordan, 0191 222 6067/7850 (International + 44 191 222 6067/7850) or email press.office@ncl.ac.uk Useful
web pages: Newcastle University’s Institute for Ageing and
Health: http://www.ncl.ac.uk/iah/
|
"Our findings are significant given the recent National Service Framework for older adults, whose guidelines recommend new integrated falls services to improve care and treatment."
Press
release issued by
Newcastle University Press Office