Commissioners

Our Quality Account provides evidence of the steps that we have taken to demonstrate our clear commitment to providing responsive and high quality care in line with the expectations of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), NHS commissioning bodies (CCGs), staff and most importantly to our patients and users of our services. 

LCW’s Quality Account gives examples of where the organisation has listened to our stakeholders, staff and the communities we serve. We look for evidence of good practice and share the learning from where we may have evidence that services could be improved based on our well established and accessible processes to act on feedback. We have also set out clear objectives for quality assurance going forward as we continue to innovate and respond to the requirements for a 24/7 service to fully meet to our patient’s expectations.

LCW has a 25 year record as a safe and reliable provider of out of hours and unscheduled care services. We have built our reputation by valuing and acting on the feedback from our patients and staff.

View our latest Quality account statement below:

• 2023/2024 Quality Account 

Should you wish to give feedback on any aspect of your experience as a patient or service user please contact us.

LCW works closely with both commissioners and those in other healthcare sectors to prevent any unnecessary ambulance or hospital admissions. 

Reducing the number of inappropriate ambulances being arranged is a key area of focus. One method used is the validation of category 3 and 4 ambulances which are the lower priority ambulance dispositions generated by pathways (the clinical decision template used by the NHS 111 service). All category 3 and 4 ambulance dispositions are revalidated by a clinical member of staff to ensure that the appropriate level of care is offered to patients at the first time of asking. The clinical team is made up of staff with different skillsets including GPs, nurses and paramedics. Since it began category 3 & 4 ambulance referral rates have fallen to be consistently below 5% of total calls.

We have also worked closely with commissioners to reduce the number of inappropriate Emergency Department (ED) attendances. One method we use is the validation of all emergency department (ED) dispositions. All ED dispositions are reassessed by a clinical member of staff to ensure that the appropriate care is offered to patients at the first time of asking. Since ED revalidation began, ED referral rates have fallen to be consistently below 15% of total calls.

Alternative Care Pathways

LCW has developed several alternative care pathways outside of the Clinical Assessment Service (CAS) to ensure patients are able to receive the appropriate care at the first time of asking. These alternative care pathways include:

• Dental advice
• Pharmacy/medication advice

Closely aligned with commissioners, we have developed different phone lines for healthcare professionals to be able to access expert advice to assist in their clinical decision making including:

* 5 – For paramedics unable to access a patient’s registered GP seeking the support of a GP

* 6 – For clinicians in care homes unable to access a patient’s registered GP seeking the support of a GP

* 7 – For healthcare professionals in the community unable to access the patient’s registered GP seeking the support of a GP or wanting to arrange other care to take place locally.

We are a leading healthcare innovator and cooperate with multiple organisations outlined below to pilot new systems and services. The success of many of these pilots has led to a nationwide roll-out of new systems and services across the country.

Digital Access to the Clinical Assessment Service

We were one of the first providers to accept patients into our CAS through digital channels. This includes patients being assessed through NHS 111 Online before reaching a CAS disposition. Additionally, we are able to accept symptom specific cohorts of patients into our CAS following an assessment through the Smart Triage Service. This involves patients using a clinically-validated AI tool through our partners Visiba to assess the patients needs which will in turn clinically prioritise the patient for a call back from an LCW clinician. This has helped to improve patient experience and outcomes.

Telemedicine

Working closely with care homes and local commissioners, LCW has established tele support for individuals in their last phase of life and those caring for them. In addition to the current provision, the Telemedicine programme introduced video conferencing allowing clinicians to use video as and when appropriate.

Pathways Clinical Consultation System

LCW has worked closely with Pathways to develop and improve the Pathways Clinical Consultation System (PaCCS). GPs working within the IUC at LCW use the PaCCS to facilitate onward referrals using the DoS or by dispatching ambulances. This has helped to streamline booking processes and streamline referrals in general.

GP Connect

LCW was one of the first IUC providers in the country to begin rolling out GP Connect. The service has allowed different healthcare IT systems to be able to communicate with each other allowing clinicians in different care setting to be able to:

• View a patient’s GP practice record
• Book GP appointments for patients with their own GP practice
• Download data on a patient’s medicines and allergies.

This will help to save time for clinicians as well as provide better more convenient care for patients.

Direct Bookings

Both clinical and non-clinical LCW staff are able to book patient appointments at their home practice, urgent treatment centres and other services in order to avoid admissions into other urgent care services. These services are available for patients in both the North West and North Central London area.