Challenges & objectives

Challenges

The pilot will seek to build on, incorporate and enhance the work already undertaken by the Hospital at Night project. The Whittington is seeking a solution that can be feasibly used in other trusts nationally and could possibly be applicable to other disciplines. Although the project will initially focus on cross site cover between Royal Free and Whittington within the field of surgery, the pilot will also explore the viability of extending the ideas and models generated to other disciplines.

Specific objectives of the pilot

The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust’s project objectives are:

• Examine ways of meeting increased service demand without significantly increasing the existing medical staffing establishment
• Investigate the benefits that new and extended roles in surgery & anaesthesia can bring to the Whittington and Royal Free Hospital Trusts
• Build upon, incorporate and enhance the work already undertaken in order to offer a solution that will benefit patients and improve care for both elective and emergency surgical patients
• Explore the feasibility of cross site cover out of hours between the Royal Free Hospital and the Whittington within the field of surgery, whilst also exploring the viability of extending the ideas and models generated to other disciplines.

Delivering compliance

This pilot is based around a cross site to out of hours cover. It aims to:

• Explore new and extended roles in surgery and anaesthetics in partnership with other trusts to provide feasible solutions to WTD 2009
• Improve junior doctors training
• Improve quality of patient care
• Achieve these at the same or lower costs
• Improve working lives of staff.