Consultant Connect has been available for colleagues in primary and secondary care services across Lanarkshire for a number of years.
Since it was introduced, its usage has ramped up but there are opportunities for it to grow even further, particularly for GPs, ANPs and paramedics seeking advice on the appropriate healthcare needs for elderly patients who may not need to be admitted, but do need specialist frailty consultant support.
Consultant Connect offers a rapid professional to professional discussion on what is the best course of care and treatment for an individual. This not only supports what is best for the patient but also provides reassurance to the referrer.
Dr Helen McKee is a care of the elderly consultant at University Hospital Hairmyres and she spoke to Dr Catriona Nisbet, GP Partner, The Murray Surgery, East Kilbride. Catriona is also Locality Lead GP for East Kilbride & Strathaven and GP Lead for Care Homes & Frailty.
While Catriona has sought the support of Consultant Connect for some of her patients, hearing from Helen how the frailty consultants are working to support Consultant Connect, she agrees that she is much more likely to seek advice through Consultant Connect before making any referrals or decisions on the care of her elderly patients.
You can hear more about Consultant Connect by watching the discussion between Helen and Catriona below:
Dr Gordon McNeish, NHS Lanarkshire Associate Medical Director for Unscheduled Care, said: “There are a small number of Health Boards across Scotland who have signed up for the Consultant Connect app and Lanarkshire is one of them.
“Each Health Board use the system slightly differently. In Lanarkshire we are using Consultant Connect in a number of ways with specialist clinicians being available for other healthcare professionals to seek expert advice on a patient’s condition and future treatment pathway.
“Having our frailty teams make themselves available is really valuable, particularly for primary care clinicians who may not want to refer an elderly patient straight to hospital and want to discuss alternatives. By using the Consultant Connect app they will be connected to one of our frailty consultants within seconds and can discuss what is best for their frail patient.
“In many instances hospital is not the best option and the frailty consultant can suggest different options for the individual including Hospital at Home, rapid access to an outpatient clinic or sign-post to rehabilitation teams, social work or third sector organisations.
“There’s also the opportunity to get rapid diagnostic and management advice including around polypharmacy and de-prescribing. In line with realistic medicine, the appropriateness of investigation for certain frailer individuals and sharing in difficult decision making around ceiling of care can be discussed specialist to specialist.
“This is not about imposing a barrier to admission. If a patient still requires to be admitted the team can be ready for them arriving. It is about what is best for the patient.”
