Emergency Department signposting/ redirection guidance

9. Measuring impact of Signposting/Redirection

There are a number of recommendations to ensure that reflection and learning is used to refine pathways and processes. In order to measure the impact of signposting/redirection it is important to:

• regularly review patient outcomes, including where patients were signposted or redirected to e.g. back to GP practice, self-care and community pharmacy
• analyse outcome data to allow for identification of high frequency presentations, ensure consistency in the patient journey and ensure there is continual learning and refinement of pathways
• record total numbers of patients signposted/redirected per site. This will allow an understanding of how effective the signposting/redirection approach is. Examples of how this may be achieved include:

1. regular random sampling of a small group of signposted/redirected patients (10 or so) to ensure signposting/ redirection process was appropriate

2. monitoring non-attendance rates of patients referred to Emergency Department

3. monitoring re-attendance rates to Emergency Department or Acute Care

4. linked data to show subsequent touch points and mortality if CHI is recorded at redirection

5. use surveys or patient feedback forms as measurement tools of patient satisfaction

6. engage with staff involved in redirection to establish areas of concern or highlight opportunity for improvement

7. conduct equality impact assessments to identify any unintended consequences