Need to know
For #TeamEEAST Last updated: 18 April 2024 at 04:21
The end of shift trial has just passed the half-way point of its second phase, following expansion to cover all of Norfolk & Waveney and Hertfordshire & West Essex.
The trial has now been running for a total of eight weeks and the initial results from Phase 2 follow the positive trend set in the first phase.
In the two weeks since Phase 2 began on Monday 13 September there have been 3480 operational shifts across the trial areas with 25 occasions where a trial resource would have been dispatched in their last 30 minutes but was not due to the protections provided by the trial.
Late finishes. The impact on late finishes has been less clear than in the first phase, perhaps due to the extended hospital delays that have been experienced over this period. The number of late finishes shows no notable change but there seems to be the beginning of a trend – not yet statistically significant - showing a reduction in the duration of late finishes.
Late starts. The number of late starts (defined as a sign-on longer than 5 minutes after scheduled shift start) shows a slight increase in Phase 2 which could be attributed – but not confidently – to late finishes resulting from hospital delays. The data suggests an overall reduction in the length of late starts, which is encouraging. Reducing late starts is important as availability of these resources helps protect off-coming crews from being dispatched close to the end of their shift.
Patient safety. Both the EOS Trial team and the Clinical Directorate have undertaken daily conference calls to discuss any calls affected by the trial. As of writing there has been either no or negligible harm caused as a result of not attending these calls sooner.
Impact of REAP and Surge. As expected, being at REAP 4 has had no discernible impact on the trial. However, the trial was paused on six occasions between the 6th & 12th September (i.e., before Phase 2) where the Trust declared Surge White (Internal Critical Incident). Strategic Commanders will be trying to avoid pausing the trial as the resulting late finishes can cause a knock-on effect of late starts. As of writing there has been no pause in the trial since 12 September.
Communication. There have been some communication challenges, in particular in being able to clearly and promptly inform crews when Surge White (aka Surge 4) has been declared and whether the trial has been paused, or when it has restarted when the surge level drops. The trial team have been working with the Tactical Operations Centre in order to try and incorporate trial status in MDT messaging.
What next? The trial is on schedule for the planned expansion into Phase 3, incorporating Mid & South Essex STP, Suffolk and North Essex STP and Chelmsford AOC on Monday 11 October.
More information about the trial see the NtK article on trial expansion End of shift trial to be expanded (eastamb.nhs.uk) and the trial FAQ End of Shift Trial FAQs (eastamb.nhs.uk)
The trial team can be contacted via a dedicated email address: eostrial@eastamb.nhs.uk. Feedback, comments, suggestions etc. are welcome.
Published 30th September 2021