Changing the waiting room

What if … the waiting room was different?

So much of our health care systems are designed around waits. With waits higher than ever before, there is an industry in how we manage them. Clearly it is crucial we make sure people are waiting for the right thing, and that they wait for as short a time as possible, but what if our primary focus was making sure that people were supported, right from the get go, understanding what matters to them and what would be most likely to help.

What if you invited all the people on the list into a big space, filled it with a range of help and support, and spent the day really asking what matters to people, and responding to what they said. What if ‘clinical validation’ or the more modern ‘automated validation options’ became interventions - not checking whether they want to stay on the list, but finding out what is truly needed, and delivering it right there and then. Physio appointment – that corner over there, social prescribing – take a seat right there, mental health advice – there’s a community hub in the centre of the room, self-management advice – pain specialist to the right, spine rehab on the left… and as you walk around a team of health builders to talk to for advice, cup of tea, share their story.

What if it were joined up, delivered by a provider who was looking after the whole pathway. What if people who came had a passport, tracking their own information and making sure they left with their own notes. What if we tracked who came and what difference it made, and could tell people walked out better than they came in?

This month, we’ve done this twice in our outstanding Sussex MSK Partnership.

It’s a great start, and there's early data:

• 272 patients in Crawley
• 281 patients in Horsham
• 2 jam packed days of meaningful work with people
• 50% of people choosing patient initiated follow up
• a further 5% ready to be discharged altogether
• The waiting list has come down
• The staff are smiling

And the patients? Clear and to the point “This day is a really good idea."

So proud of our team, and can’t wait to take this further…?