Place in national awards final secured for Lincolnshire's innovative urgent care service

Staff from Lincolnshire's Urgent Care service will be lining up against respected health and care organisations from across the country in the finals of the 2019 HSJ Value Awards.

The team have been shortlisted in the Emergency, Urgent and Trauma Care Efficiency Initiative of the Year category after impressing judges with their innovative new ways of delivering care in Lincolnshire.

The team's entry highlights their success at introducing urgent care streaming in conjunction with the already nationally-recognised Clinical Assessment Service (CAS), which helps people to quickly access the most appropriate services for their needs either face-to-face or over the telephone.

By supporting people at their first point of contact and working with other emergency organisations, the service is helping to reduce unnecessary ambulance call outs, hospital admissions and attendances to A&E departments.

Natalie McKee, head of urgent care for Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS), said: "We are incredibly proud to be shortlisted, particularly as it is the third successive year our hard work has been recognised at these national awards.

"The often unpredictable nature of urgent care services means we have to think innovatively about how to support our local communities. Streaming services based in A&E departments combined with our CAS are able to support, on average, around a quarter of patients away from emergency departments to more appropriate care providers.

"The responsiveness of our Urgent Care service overall was reviewed as 'outstanding' by the Care Quality Commission in 2018 and we are grateful for another opportunity to show why Lincolnshire is among those leading the development of these services nationally at the HSJ Value Awards."

The team will face a second round of judging in April before the winners are announced at a ceremony in Manchester on May 23.