What is the challenge your project is going to address and how does it connect to the theme of 'How can we improve across system boundaries?​

The “Connect and Collaborate” project aims to improve patient feedback flow between NHS 24 111 and NHSGGC’s unscheduled care services. Noticing a gap in patient satisfaction data exchange, the initiative seeks to enhance understanding of patient experiences, focusing on their care-seeking pathways and overall journey. It stresses the importance of considering patients’ broader experiences, including their role in decision-making and addressing their health issues’ root causes. By integrating these insights into the feedback loop, the project will enable both services to better meet patient needs, emphasising patient partnership in care. This initiative will make unscheduled care services more responsive, patient-centred, and effective, aligning with the Q Exchange theme of fostering collaboration and information sharing for systemic healthcare improvements.

What does your project aim to achieve?

The “Connect and Collaborate” project is designed to enhance patient care by streamlining the feedback sharing process between NHS 24 and NHSGGC, aiming to use this data to improve unscheduled care services. It sets ambitious objectives, including:

• the enhancement of SMS-based e-survey systems,
• using patient feedback to improve the quality of unscheduled care,
• improving data sharing efficiency between healthcare systems, and;
• developing a dissemination toolkit for broader application.

The project serves a diverse population with varying socioeconomic, ethnic, and health backgrounds, highlighting existing health inequalities within the area. By effectively gathering and using patient feedback across NHS 24 and NHSGGC services, it aims to pinpoint and implement healthcare delivery improvements tailored to the distinct needs of different community segments. This approach seeks to improve care quality for all, while specifically targeting measures that can mitigate health inequalities, moving towards a more equitable healthcare system for the NHSGGC/ NHS 24 served population.

How will the project be delivered?

The project leverages NHS24 and NHSGGC’s combined strengths to improve patient care through efficient feedback sharing via SMS and e-survey systems, ensuring GDPR compliance and cross-system learning. Both organisations are already engaged in collaboration within this area and will continue to do so regardless of the success in securing funding. With funding we will focus on developing clear protocols for patient feedback collection, analysis, and use, including data privacy and ethical guidelines. Secure data sharing mechanisms will facilitate insight transfer, with management engagement tools aiding in data interpretation and improvement identification. A comprehensive toolkit, encompassing methodologies and best practices, will be made accessible for varied technical expertise within healthcare. All will be supported by project management, research and administrative oversight to deliver value for money and manage risk. Communication strategies will engage stakeholders and promote the project. Evaluation will document impacts and findings, ensuring transparency and broad learning.

How is your project going to share learning?

The dissemination of learnings and outcomes from the “Connect and Collaborate” project is pivotal to its success and the broader application of its findings. Strategies for sharing learning include:

• Using webinars, workshops, and conference presentations and posters to share insights and learnings with a wider audience. These platforms will facilitate discussions on the project’s methodologies, outcomes, and potential for replication across the wider healthcare system.
• combining learning with existing community research which indicates a significant public interest in discussing the entirety of care pathways, revealing an essential need to delve into these journeys more comprehensively.
• Social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, blogs; Fab NHS stuff
• Professional networks& associations such as The Q Community; HIS Community Engagement; Royal Colleges; Community Pharmacy Scotland
• Creating accessible and practical toolkits that encapsulate the project’s learnings and best practices. These resources will guide other healthcare systems in implementing similar feedback sharing mechanisms.