i-HEART 365 Service - Extended Hours

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

People were involved in assessments of their needs. Staff reviewed assessments taking account of people’s communication, personal and health needs. Care was based on latest evidence and good practice. Staff worked with all agencies involved in people’s care for the best outcomes, for example, the patient’s own GP. Staff made sure people understood their care and treatment to enable them to give informed consent.

This service scored 83 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them. Feedback from people using the service was positive. People felt involved in any assessment of their needs and felt confident that staff understood their individual and cultural needs. The service had access to interpreter services. Staff were aware of the needs of the local community and how to signpost people who may require support, for example, to social prescribing. The provider also hosted regular social support events at their main site for the people of Barnsley, such as bingo and quizzes.

The service planned and delivered people’s care and treatment with them, including what was important and mattered to them. Systems were in place to ensure staff were up to date with evidence-based guidance and legislation and the provider carried out annual audits of clinical consultations to ensure care was provided in line with current guidance.

The service worked effectively across teams. The out‑of‑hours nursing response team told us that joint working with the out‑of‑hours service had strengthened urgent community care in Barnsley and helped prevent unnecessary hospital admissions.

They also worked effectively with external providers, including patients’ own GPs to support people. During the assessment, the service gave examples of collaborative working with other organisations, for example, providing premises for meetings of a men’s suicide‑prevention charity.

Staff had access to the information they needed to appropriately assess, plan, and deliver people’s care, treatment, and support. They worked with other services, for example, the service had worked with the high‑intensity user group to reduce frequent attendances at services such as accident and emergency. Provider audit data showed a significant reduction in emergency department attendances, decreasing from 127 to 52 during the audited period as a result of this service. They also shared a case study demonstrating that, through direct engagement with a patient, attending joint meetings, and providing regular one‑to‑one support, the number of non‑medical attendances at accident and emergency for one individual reduced from 24 in a three‑month period to none.

The service effectively supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to maximise their independence, choice and control. The service supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support. For example, the provider had facilitated the ‘Love to Move’ programme, delivered by a Health and Wellbeing Coach across 29 local care homes in the town to improve muscle strength, mobility and help reduce falls. We saw positive feedback from people who had taken part in the programme.

Staff actively supported national priorities to improve population health, including smoking cessation and tackling obesity. The provider had created clear and engaging health promotion displays across the premises at the main site which was used by a range of organisations and charities in Barnsley – to encourage participation in national screening programmes such as cervical cytology.

The provider also played a key role in improving cancer screening uptake. They supported the employment of cancer champions within the Primary Care Network (PCN) and organised one-stop cancer events that promoted national screening programmes, including cervical and lung cancer screening that staff attended. These events highlighted smoking cessation support and offered advice that led to additional referrals and appointments, such as breast screening. This work demonstrated a proactive and effective approach to improving education, signposting and screening uptake across the local population.

The extended hours service also offered additional cervical cytology screening appointments during evening and weekends to support uptake of screening for those who could not attend during the day.

The service routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured that outcomes were positive and consistent, and that they met both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves. From the clinical notes audits we reviewed, we found that people who used the service experienced positive outcomes as set out in legislation, standards, and evidence-based clinical guidance.

The service told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment. Staff understood and applied legislation relating to consent.