Roundtable: Phone First Emergency Care?

 

Workshop chair:

Dr Bertie Bassett (National Clinical Advisor, 111 Programme)

Presenter 1:

Dr Helen Alefounder (Besti Cadwalladr UHB, Clinical Director Integrated Urgent Care)

Presenter 2:

Dr Timothy Ayres (Cardiff and Vale UHB, ED Consultant)

Presenter 3:

Professor Jaynie Rance (Swansea University)

Presenter 4:

Dr Sherard Lemaitre (Cardiff & Vale UHB Urgent Primary Care Service, Clinical Lead for CAV24/7)

 

Roundtable Overview and Structure
 

The Covid-19 pandemic heightened concerns regarding overcrowding in emergency departments and encouraged greater reliance on 111 services. In Wales (as elsewhere), this prompted discussion surrounding the possibilities afforded by telemedicine and teletriage for pre-hospital treatment, streaming or ED appointments as a way to potentially tackle the problem of overcrowding now and in the future.

This roundtable brings together medical and academic perspectives to discuss contact/ phone first EDs. The panel represent various interpretations of phone first emergency care available in Wales and discuss the requirement for better understanding of how these services work now, the risks, and the future of urgent care. The panel will also consider the extension and integration of the individual services – whether SICAT, 111, or CAV24/7 – with wider health and social services nationally to create what is known conceptually and locally as the Welsh Access Model.

Each of the four speakers will deliver a short presentation and overview of the work with which they are associated, followed by a discussion of the possibilities and challenges posed by a national approach. The session closes with an audience Q&A.