“Side by side” working trialled in Sutton could be blueprint for health care

An innovative scheme in which health and social care services work side by side to cut hospital admissions has been hailed a major success.

The approach was trialled in Sutton and targeted people with long term, high risk health issues as well as their carers.

The six month pilot was led by GP Dr Raza Toosy and brought together Sutton’s GPs, council and local primary care trust.

Based on a trial of 25,000 patients, the pilot substantially reduced hospital admissions and would save around £250,000 if rolled out to all of the other practices in Sutton.

Dr Toosy, who is based in Wallington said: “We need to think in a more joined up way in the future if we have any chance of managing our more limited resources without having to affect patient care.

“Reducing admissions will allow us to invest more into the community to prevent further hospital activity and keep the patient where they want to be- at home. By working with social services and mental health experts we hope we will achieve this aim.”

Monitoring devices were installed in patients’ homes so GPs could use the equipment to check their patient’s blood pressure, blood oxygenation and other indicators remotely, before taking early action.

Weekly meetings were held between a social worker, psychologist, GP, community matron and district nurse where the client’s needs were discussed.

Cllr Colin Stears, Sutton Council’s Executive Member for Adult Social Services and Health, said: “The pilot team has been inspired by the results of this work and would like to see it extended to other people such as those with dementia or cancer.

“The pilot shows how we can achieve better outcomes for patients and carers when health and social care services work side by side and take a new approach to those who suffer from health conditions that have a significant social impact on their lives.”