Innovations
Find out about some of the innovative projects NHS Birmingham East and North primary care trust is involved with.
Healthcare closer to home
NHS Birmingham East and North has entered into an alliance with Healthcare at Home, the leading provider of hi-tech out-of-hospital healthcare, to bring healthcare services across the trust closer to patients’ homes. Find out about healthcare closer to home.
Healthy Incentives Programme
Healthy Incentives is a programme to support and encourage people to look after their health, offering rewards for people who quit smoking, get active, or lose weight.
It is being jointly developed by the trust and the Young Foundation, a charity that develops innovative solutions to meet social needs.
A range of staff and colleagues from Birmingham City Council will work alongside a programme team to deliver a pilot project with four different groups of people across east and north Birmingham.
Consultant-led Integrated Knee Service
The Consultant-led Integrated Knee Service, or CLIKS, is a pilot project that aims to provide prompt assessment, diagnosis and outpatient treatment for patients referred with knee problems.
Developed in partnership with Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust and Solihull NHS Care Trust, CLIKS aims to reduce waiting times and help ensure patients receive treatment within 18 weeks.
Patients can be referred to CLIKS via their GP using Choose and Book. They are then offered an appointment with the most appropriate health care professional depending on their needs.
Similar pilots are also planned for back pain and shoulder services.
Urology clinic pilot
A consultant-led urology clinic in Kingstanding has been set up to allow patients who have problems with their bladder, prostate and other conditions to be seen by a urologist closer to their homes.
At the clinic, patients can be assessed and diagnosed by the consultant and find out more about how to manage their condition.
Additional specialised investigations such as bladder scanning can also be performed by specially trained nurses.
Initially a six month pilot, if successful, the service will be rolled out across east and north Birmingham.
Urgent care project
NHS Birmingham East and North, together with Solihull NHS Care Trust, is trialling a new urgent care project.
After consulting GP practices, urgent care providers, patients and members of the public, two new services have been identified and are being piloted in 2009.
The trust is leading on the first project called the Primary Care Discharge Unit (PCDU). Based at Good Hope Hospital, it aims to reduce the number of patients staying overnight by referring them to community services where appropriate.
Solihull NHS Care Trust is leading the second project in Solihull which will provide a primary care nursing service to support care homes.
The new service will help to avoid hospital admissions and provide nursing and educational support for care home staff.
By working closely with patients and one another, the two trusts can assess the strengths and weakness of urgent and emergency care and put together a long term plan that works for everyone.
Personal Health Budgets
As part of 20 pilot schemes across the country, NHS Birmingham East and North is offering personal health budgets to COPD patients in Kingstanding.
