Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Pathway

The Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Pathway defines the core components of an optimal service for people with COPD.

The NHS RightCare Pathway for COPD provides a national case for change and a set of resources to support local health economies to concentrate their improvement efforts where there is greatest opportunity to address variation and improve population health.

Getting the most from technology requires pathway redesign

The topic of technology led at September’s NHS Innovation Expo conference. NHS England used Expo as an opportunity to showcase the innovation test bed areas, publishing a ‘Story so far’ update. These seven areas test different technologies with the aim of demonstrating how to choose, implement and iterate technology to transform care pathways and the experience of care.

Diabetes and learning disability, reasonable adjustments needed along a diabetes pathway

The prevalence rates of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes were identified to be higher in people with a learning disability compared to the general population.

To ensure the same care is available to people with a learning disability, NHS RightCare has published a pathway for diabetes including the reasonable adjustments expected to be made for people with a learning disability. This document will support commissioners applying the NHS RightCare Pathway for diabetes to people with learning disability, so that all receive the same level of care, understanding and outcomes.

NHS RightCare pathway: falls and fragility fractures

The latest NHS RightCare pathway on falls and fragility fractures pathway has been developed in collaboration with the national clinical director for musculoskeletal services, Public Health England (PHE), National Osteoporosis Society and a range of other stakeholders from across the health and care system. The pathway defines the key interlocking components for an optimal system for prevention and management, and the priority higher value interventions that systems should focus on to address variation, improve outcomes, reduce cost and contribute toward a sustainable NHS.

Transforming Urgent and Emergency Care and the Vanguard Initiative: Learning from Evaluation of the Southern Cluster

Urgent and Emergency Care (UEC) vanguards aim to improve the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of UEC services so that patients receive the most appropriate care at the right time and in the right place, and so that unnecessary admissions to accident and emergency (A&E) and hospitals are reduced. The Southern Cluster comprises three such UEC vanguards. RAND Europe's evaluation examined the impacts of the vanguards, the processes underpinning delivery (and associated enablers and challenges), and implications for future policy and practice.

The evaluation used a multi-method approach, including theories of change, document review, workshops, interviews, surveys and data dashboards. Rand's report makes recommendations concerning: (i) UEC health and care workforce capacity-building, (ii) local-national coordination around UEC transformation, (iii) collaboration across localities and professions, (iv) support for an end-to-end UEC pathway with mutually reinforcing activities, (v) cost and outcome data, (vi) an interoperable data infrastructure, and (vii) capacity for evaluation and learning.

Preventing and managing stroke: NHS RightCare Pathway

As part of the ongoing commitment by NHS England to prevent stroke and improve treatment and outcomes, NHS RightCare has published the latest Pathway for Stroke. 

Developed with the Stroke Association, the pathway details interlocking components for an optimal system for prevention and management of stroke and the priority higher value interventions that local health economies should focus on to address variation, improve outcomes, reduce cost and contribute toward a sustainable NHS.      

Sickle cell and thalassaemia screening: care pathway

This document from Public Health England describes the sickle cell and thalassamia (SCT) screening pathways.

See also Sickle cell and thalassaemia screening: handbook for laboratories

London NHS trusts launch ‘back school’ as new care pathway

Two London trusts are launching a 90-minute education session for people with low back pain, as part of a new care pathway to meet the latest clinical guidelines.

Diabetic eye screening programme: pathway standards

National pathway standards from Public Health England for the NHS diabetic eye screening (DES) programme.

Cancer in the West Midlands

The aim of this report is to equip care providers and policy makers with an insight into the burden of cancer, as well as providing an overview of the extent of the identified risk factors, across the West Midlands population. It is intended to be used by commissioners of health services to enable more timely diagnosis and improve treatment pathways, and also by local authority commissioners in terms of the wider prevention agenda.

Diabetes pathway

This diabetes pathway from NHS RightCare defines the core components of an optimal diabetes service for people with or at risk of developing Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes that delivers the better value in terms of outcomes and cost.

The pathway shows the core components of an optimal diabetes service, evidence of the opportunity to reduce variation and improve outcomes and the key evidence-based interventions which the system should focus on for greatest improvement, supported by practice examples from across the NHS.

Report on pilot scheme to refer from pharmacy for chest x-ray

Cancer Research UK has published a summary of a pilot scheme in Doncaster to improve diagnosis of lung cancer.

The pilot involved a direct referral to chest x-ray by a pharmacist. The report suggests that similar pathways could be implemented more widely.

VISION 2020 UK – Pathway for Children and Young People (0 to 25 years) with Vision Impairment, and their Families

VISION 2020 has published a pathway for children and young people with vision impairment.

It is a best practice, generic pathway that requires health, social care, education and the voluntary sector to work collaboratively to meet the needs of the child or young person and their family.

A lung health service: Doncaster pharmacy direct referral for chest x-ray

The Accelerate, Coordinate, Evaluate (ACE) Programme is an early diagnosis programme that supports the NHS outcome of preventing people from dying prematurely. This report presents a summary from the Doncaster site which piloted a pharmacist direct referral to chest x-ray pathway which aimed to improve the diagnosis of lung cancer. It outlines early findings from the pilot project and suggestions for rolling out a similar pathway.

Dementia long term condition scenario

In this new long term condition scenario from NHS RightCare – using a fictional patient, Tom – we examine a dementia care pathway, comparing a sub-optimal but not atypical scenario against an ideal pathway. At each stage we have modelled the costs of care, to the commissioner and the impact on the person and their family’s outcomes and experience.

The Confusion Care Pathway

The Confusion Care Pathway has been developed by the dementia/delirium working group at London North West Healthcare NHS Trust as a guide to best practice in supporting people with dementia, delirium and/or cognitive impairment and their carers.

The Burden of Stroke in Europe

The Stroke Alliance for Europe (SAFE) and the Stroke Association have published The burden of stroke in Europe. This report examines the stroke care pathway across Europe. It looks at the burden of stroke, stroke prevention, stroke as a medical emergency, acute stroke care and rehabilitation and longer term support. The report predicts that by 2035 the number of new strokes across Europe is likely to increase by a third.

Perinatal Pathway For Babies With Palliative Care Needs

This pathway is designed to support all professionals working in fetal medicine, anetental, neonatal and maternity services to deliver sensitive and timely support, enabling families to spend time with their baby in a more home-like environment, and with as little technologically dependent care as possible.

Elective care guide

Guidance for NHS staff involved the delivery of acute elective care who want to understand how best to manage and deliver referral to treatment (RTT) pathways and standards.

All-Wales Integrated Pathway for Children and Young People (0 to 25 years) with Vision Impairment, and their Families

The All-Wales Integrated Pathway for Children and Young People (0 to 25 years) with Vision Impairment, and their Families, created in collaboration with the Children’s Vision Service Advisory Group for Wales, provides an agreed provision pathway from the point of diagnosis of a visual impairment to adulthood.