Humber Acute Services Programme - Evaluation Workshops

We Asked

The Humber Acute Services Programme is about designing the future of hospital services, that are safe, sustainable and meet the needs of the local population. 

Clinical teams worked together to come up with different ideas about how services could work better together in the future. These dates were developed into potential models of care. 

We held a series of workshops to gather feedback on the different ideas from a wide range of stakeholders. 

Step 1 – Advantages and Disadvantages 
The first step of the evaluation process involved a series of workshops with 117 attendees, including clinical teams and wider stakeholders to review the high-level models of care for:
• Urgent and Emergency Care
• Maternity, Neonatal Care and Paediatrics
• Planned Care

The workshops identified key advantages and disadvantages of each of the potential models of care across the three workstreams. As a result of the feedback, some models / variations were not taken forward into the next stage of evaluation and some previously discounted models were reconsidered for further evaluation.

Step 2 – Small Multiples / Balanced Room Approach
Between January and March 2022, Step 2 of the evaluation process considered a range of potential future models of care for urgent and emergency care, maternity, neonatal and paediatrics.

To ensure a robust and consistent process was followed, all possible combinations of the models set out in the pre-consultation business case for urgent and emergency care and maternity, neonatal care and paediatrics were combined and taken through step 2 of the evaluation process (unless there was a clear rationale from step 1 to discount the model/variation). This included reviewing some previously discounted ideas.

A balanced room approach was adopted, and 130 stakeholders attended a series of workshops including clinical teams, other professionals, partners, patient representatives and other lay members.

Attendees used the evaluation framework and questions to evaluate and score all the models, potential variations and site options using small multiples to provide a judgement on how well each model/variation met the different questions posed within each criteria. 

You Said

Step 1 – identified the advantages and disadvantages of each of the high-level models. Each model had different strengths and weaknesses. Some key areas of feedback include: 

• All models improves the ability to meet clinical standards through consolidation of specialty teams.
• All models have the potential to improve performance on waiting times
• Secondary transfers lead to poor patient experience, particularly for frail or elderly patients
• Operating a time-limited Paediatric Assessment Unit increases transfers required for short-stay patients

Step 2 - also identified a wide range of different strengths and weaknesses of different potential models of care. Some key areas of feedback include:

• There was a high degree of variation between the views of participants in relation to almost all questions. 
• Differentiation between the models was limited.
• Overall, stakeholders gave a high score to the idea of creating a central site for all acute care. 

For the full findings, please click here to read the Evaluation Feedback Report 

We Did

The findings and outputs from this work will form part of the programme’s Pre-Consultation Business Case (PCBC), which will set out the options we would like to consult with the public on, and that we believe represent the best potential solutions to the challenges faced across the Humber and will provide the best outcomes for our population.

For more information on the Humber Acute Services Programme, please click here to visit our website.