SusQI case study: A Novel Care Pathway for Very Stable HIV Patients

This project was part of the Northamptonshire Green Team Competition 2022. 

Our team defined a 'very stable' HIV patient in order to reduce frequency of appointments from 6 monthly, to annual reviews.

It challenged the assumptions that many NHS staff have around the need for  patients to attend outpatient departments and gathered the view of patients (vs staff) and the social impact on them of  those attendances. The project then reviewed the environmental impact of changing the pathway to take account of the patient voice.  Obviously, any changes had to be deemed 'medically safe'. The eligible patients were clearly defined prior to commencement. The 'habit' or routine recall of patients was challenged in light of improvements in  technology, medication etc over the past decade.  The system is now rolling out across the entire countywide service and will report on the outcome (safety/patient opinion etc) when complete. At a time when integrated care boards/systems are being developed across the NHS, this sort of review of a multitude of potentially habitual pathways should be considered in order to informa and to develop newer and sustainable healthcare pathways for the NHS 

Click here for more information on the Green Team Competition (including organisation impact reports).