NHS Forth Valley Wins Grant To Improve Knee Services
NHS Forth Valley, in partnership with Clackmannanshire and Stirling Health and Social Care Partnership and the University of Stirling, has received £75,000 from the Health Foundation for a project which aims to help achieve better outcomes for people with knee problems.
The project, which is the only one in Scotland to receive funding from the Health Foundation, will see information analysts, healthcare professionals and service users work together over the next year to build analytical capabilities. This will enable the Partnership to review data, redesign referral pathways and look at new ways to prevent and manage knee problems more effectively.
The increasing prevalence of knee problems and rising demand for treatment is a common challenge for all health and care systems. The Partnership aims to address this by helping people to manage their knee problems at an early stage to prevent their condition from worsening and improving the way services are organised so that people can access the care and treatment they need as quickly as possible. It also aims to ensure that when people do require surgery they are as prepared as possible.
Success will be also be measured by improvements to patient care and experience and the number of information staff trained to carry out the type of detailed analysis which underpins this improvement project.
Susan Bishop, NHS Forth Valley’s Head of Efficiency, Improvement & Innovation said “This is a fantastic achievement and I’m delighted that we will now have the opportunity to use data in more advanced ways to change services and improve outcomes for patients. This learning will be transferrable so we are keen to hear from any other NHS Boards who might be interested in working with us.”’
Martin Bardsley, Senior Fellow at the Health Foundation, said: “This is the second round of our Advancing Applied Analytics programme and we have selected 11 exciting local projects that will demonstrate how better analysis can lead to better health and care. In particular these projects will address the capability deficiencies that exist, and provide lessons for the wider health and care system. We look forward to working with the project teams to highlight the value of analytical skills and explore the best ways that they can be delivered.”
Notes to editors:
About the Health Foundation
The Health Foundation is an independent charity committed to bringing about better health and health care for people in the UK.
They aim to create a healthier population, supported by high quality health care that can be equitably accessed. They learn what works to make people’s lives healthier and improve the health care system. From giving grants to those working at the front line to carrying out research and policy analysis, they shine a light on how to make successful change happen.
