37LYMPHOEDEMA SPECIALIST SERVICES |
BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019
Patient-centred care
Putting the patient first continues
to underpin our working practice. A
holistic approach to patients and their
clinical treatment needs is integrated
with their personal preference.
Strategies surrounding symptom
control are key in the educating of
patients to self-manage lymphoedema
as a chronic condition, with the aim
of improving quality of life. Results of
consecutive annual patient satisfaction
questionnaires continue to provide
evidence of the effectiveness of our
approach.
In January 2018, all of the 76 out
of 103 patients who responded to
a survey reported that they were
treated with respect and dignity.
Ninety-three per cent also reported
that the treatment they received was
controlling their lymphoedema and
improving their quality of life. Key
performance data collected every
month since 2012 demonstrates our
commitment to seeing every patient
promptly following their referral, and
shows a 100 per cent achievement in
assessing the 1,847 patients referred to
us in fulfilment of our NHS contractual
waiting response times.
Enabling prompt access to
treatment
In line with best practice guidelines,
our policy is to instigate treatment
promptly for each patient to control
and reduce symptoms quickly.
Treatment often includes the
measurement and fitting of hosiery;
however, in February 2014, two
years after the commencement of
an NHS contract, it became evident
that patients were experiencing
delays in receiving hosiery through
the conventional prescription route of
ordering items from GPs. In August
2014, 150 patients were audited
surrounding the process, with 83 per
cent of the 112 who returned the
questionnaire reporting issues with
obtaining hosiery. Sixty-seven per
cent cited the prescription route as
adequate, hard or very hard because
it involved multiple organisations,
with documentation surrounding the
request getting lost, or the wrong
item being received. Forty-six per cent
reported their non-receipt of hosiery
after a period of two weeks or more.
With the support of a compression
hosiery company, we initiated an
alternative process, with the aim
of increasing the speed of hosiery
obtainment and the removal of the
issues faced by patients. The process
enabled the direct purchase and
delivery of hosiery to each patient’s
home, with financial reconciliation
every three months with the NHS. A
post-process audit undertaken two
years later found only two per cent of
the same patients reporting their non-
receipt of hosiery within a two-week
period or more, and with 90 per cent
reporting a stress-free experience.
A lymphoedema affecting
both legs and feet
Putting the
patient first
continues to
underpin our
working
practice
“
“
Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett, MP
Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles, MP
