The Health Improvement Collaborative
"Population Health is about creating a collective sense of responsibility across many organisations and individuals." Kings Fund
The Health Improvement Collaborative (HIC) is made up of professionals and organisations committed to improving the health and wellbeing of the local community. We aim to embed a culture of health promotion and injury/disease prevention in Urgent and Emergency Care pathways, aligned with the NHS Long Term Plan and introduction of the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities.
The collaborative promote the application of the Make Every Contact Count (MECC) philosophy and recognise the value of addressing public health priorities within the urgent and emergency care pathway. Championing health improvement within our speciality can assist with the national objective to “level up” the health of the nation, by promoting a proactive approach to health and addressing health inequalities.
Our ambition is for people accessing our hospitals to live longer, happier, healthier and more independent lives.
Health Improvement Collaborative (HIC) Hub
With huge thanks to a capital funding award from Public Health England (PHE), Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and Nottingham Hospitals Charity, we have created a brand new space in DREEAM called the Health Improvement Collaborative (HIC) Hub.
The HIC Hub aims to create an environment close to the Emergency Department where Health Improvement partners can work together to plan and deliver early intervention activities to patients within frontline services.
The HIC is not just about delivery but is also the home of research and evaluation into health improvement and disease and injury prevention. The SCALES Project has facilitated the implementation and evaluation of a health improvement model within the Emergency Department. DREEAM have also completed an evaluation of the Redthread programme funded by The Health Foundation. The Executive summary is here. We are also running a randomised controlled trial of the use of Fibroscan called IBAFIRST to help spot early signs of liver disease from alcohol use and increase the uptake of alcohol treatment services amongst patients presenting to ED.
Redthread were the first non-NHS team to formally move into the HIC Hub to help them integrate with ED more effectively. You can listen to a podcast for more detail about how the Emergency Department began working with the charity and how this kind of working could and should become more common across the NHS here.
SCALES
SCALES
The SCALES project is run from DREEAM with the aim of developing, implementing and evaluating a health improvement model in the Emergency Department (ED).
Prevention is a national priority and has been identified in the NHS long-term plan. Patients presenting to ED do not currently receive universal routine assessment and advice about the contribution of lifestyle factors to their current and future risk of preventable disease. This represents a missed opportunity given the demographics, deprivation levels and high morbidity of this cohort of patients.
The health improvement model will incorporate the key SBRIT principles: Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment.
Staff Training Process
We have reviewed the relevant literature associated with prevention in Urgent and Emergency Care. We have used this in conjunction with an audit of our ED records, a staff survey and interviews to understand current practice and develop teaching materials.
We have created a Reusable Learning Object (RLO), which will be utilised to educate staff working in ED. You can complete this training here.
We are also developing ED staff education programme and are in the process of creating a second RLO which will be available soon.
Social Prescribing
Our ED social prescribing team supports our clinical staff to refer patients to non-clinical services, aiming to improve their health and wellbeing in their local community. The Health Foundation suggests as little as 10% of a populations health and wellbeing is linked to access to healthcare, therefore the social prescribing team focus on assisting with wider determinates of health experienced by our community. Social prescribers address people’s needs in a holistic way and support each person to take control of their own health. People can benefit from a wide range of social, practical or emotional support to improve their overall health and wellbeing.
The social prescribing leaflet can be downloaded below for further information: