Nursing Times Patient Flow Forum 2021

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A WELCOME LETTER FROM EDITOR OF NURSING TIMES, STEVE FORD:

Dear colleague, 

Welcome to the second Nursing Times Patient Flow Forum, which we will once again be delivering as an entirely virtual conference after the success of our 2020 launch event.  

Our forum took place last year barely a couple of months after the start of what would become the Covid-19 crisis, when much of the terrible impact of the pandemic on UK services was yet to be felt.  

The direct challenges it has brought for patient flow and the organisation of services have been unparalleled, with significant disruption felt across almost every setting and specialty.  

Similarly, the impact of the pandemic on the care journey of patients with conditions other than Covid-19 has been enormous and the extent of it is only now emerging.  

The scale of the backlog confronting the NHS, both in patients needing elective and cancer care and also those waiting for mental health and community services, could take five years or more to tackle.  

As well as staff and investment, doing so will require efficiency and productivity gains, the adoption of new technology solutions and innovative ways of treating patients, and the potential reconfiguration of services to deal with future waves of Covid-19 and winter pressures. 

We should also remember that before the pandemic, accident and emergency delays were already at record levels and lack of care home capacity was leading to rises in delayed discharge. Neither of these problems has gone away.  

It is a point worth restating that the movement of patients through the health and care system is something affecting all nursing staff, whether in primary and community care, A&E, on the ward, discharge planning or the care sector. 

Nurses are involved at every touch point along the patient journey. Therefore, our forum seeks to bring together nurses from across every setting to hear about, discuss and take forward ideas to improve that journey; both in the UK and beyond.  

The Nursing Times Patient Flow Forum aims to provide a unique opportunity for nurses to collectively lead on the legacy of Covid-19, while helping manage capacity to cope with demand, reduce hospital admissions and enhance discharge planning to transform patient experience. 

With unrivalled access to content that draws on expertise from strategic partners and real-life case studies from health and care settings, our programme for the event aims to challenge, inspire and support organisations to transform the patient journey and experience in their care setting. 

I hope you will take away valuable learning that you can put into practice within your own organisation and grow your own experience, influence and career progression opportunities.