Split into three categories, these competition themes focused on potential areas where technology solutions could play a role and where other funding initiatives were complemented that have an impact on this area, such as DALLAS and the recent SBRI Healthcare calls in areas such as falls and incontinence in the frail elderly.
In consultation with clinicians, paramedics, GPs and operations managers working in emergency admissions, SBRI Healthcare identified three challenge themes (“categories”) where there is the potential for innovative solutions to reduce pressures on emergency services:
- The first challenge resides in primary care support and aims to reduce the number of people attending A&E in the first place.
- The second challenge looks to manage the distribution of cases arriving at A&E at any one time and so manage the flow of patients into the department.
- The third challenge looks at improving the access to the clinical decision maker and if appropriate the flow through A&E and onto the wards or for discharge. Although this challenge doesn't reduce the flow itself, it does give a measure of the resources that are required, and therefore can be planned for.