WaitLess

23rd November 2017

Free, patient-facing app which shows patients the fastest place to access urgent care services for minor emergencies.

“Brilliant app. Used it for the first time properly this morning, taking my little girl to A&E. Saved us six hours by suggesting Margate over William Harvey Hospital. Recommended to all my friends.”

Parent

Summary:
Commissioned by CCGs and co-designed by patients and GPs, WaitLess was launched in east Kent in December 2016. The app allows people with minor injuries to select the location which will get them access to treatment fastest. It combines live feeds from A&E departments and all types of Urgent Treatment Centres, showing the number of people waiting and waiting time. The app then combines this with the travel time to the location, and expresses this as a single figure.

Challenge/problem identified:
Pressure has been growing across A&E services each year since 2005. Most A&E attendances are from self-presenting patients, attending A&E with conditions that are associated with minor injuries, ailments and minor emergencies, which can be seen in other departments like the Minor Injuries Unit or the Urgent Care Centre. Local and national studies recognise that many of these patients could be treated more quickly closer to home by accessing commissioned services provided outside of hospital.

Impact:

11% reduction in minor injuries activity in A&E, specifically during the busiest times of day
5% reduction in minor injuries activity across the board
125,000 uses to date (January 2018) with 99.6% patient satisfaction rate

Read the patient case study here.

Fellow: Tony Corkett

Category:

2017

Tags:

Primary Care and Urgent Care