Urgent and emergency care
What people in North Tyneside do when they feel ill
We carried out research to get a better understanding of what people do when they feel ill.
People told us they were confused about where to go to get care. Some people found getting access to GP services difficult, resulting in them needing to go elsewhere for support.
Our research involved:
- Engaging with people in the waiting area in the Emergency Department at Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital– completed November 2018 and now published.
- Engaging with people at the Urgent Treatment Centre at North Tyneside General Hospital – completed in February 2019 and report being reviewed by Northumbria Healthcare and North Tyneside CCG.
- Engaging with people at the Emergency Department at the Royal Victory Infirmary – completed December 2019 in partnership with the RVI, Newcastle CCG and Healthwatch Newcastle.
- Surveying local residents about their experiences of accessing GP practices and use of NHS 111 – ongoing.
In addition, interviewing service users in GP practice waiting areas – completed November 2019 and reports are being written.
We will be reporting back to GP practices and producing an overarching report in 2020. This report has been delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Using the Emergency Department at The Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital (NSECH)
In Novermber 2018, 309 people told us about their experiences of NSECH. We spoke to people in the waiting area of the Emergency Department and Paediatric Emergency Department over 14 three hour sessions.
This work was delivered in partnership with Healthwatch Northumberland and Northumbria Healthcare Foundation Trust.
Our recommendations included:
- Providers and commissioners to review the information and advice available to support people to get the care they need and help people to navigate themselves through the urgent care system.
- A system wide approach to review the transport issues people have highlighted, particularly public transport access to the hospital.
- Changes to the hospital waiting room environment, to improve experience and accessibility.
These recommendations have been considered by North Tyneside CCG and Northumberland CCG who commission the services, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust who run the Emergency Department and the North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust who run 999, NHS 111 and ambulance services.
Past work on urgent and emergency care
Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital – 2015 and 2016