Over recent years, acute hospital emergency care pathways have come under increasing pressure due to a variety of factors. The symptoms of this are often overcrowded A&E departments, overfull hospitals and sometimes a poor experience for patients and staff. Supporting the NHS to tackle this is a priority for NHS IQ. We recognise that to do this requires a collaborative approach, to connect and work with partners from across the emergency care landscape to deliver targeted and tailored local support, along with large scale system-wide change in primary, community and secondary care.

1. Improving accident and emergency
care: a system wide issue
Improving Quality
NHS

2. NHS IQ brings together a wealth
of improvement knowledge,
expertise and experience from
across the NHS in England. Our
purpose is to improve health
outcomes across England by
providing improvement and
change expertise.
Over recent years, acute hospital
emergency care pathways have come
under increasing pressure due to a
variety of factors. The symptoms of this
are often overcrowded A&E
departments, overfull hospitals and
sometimes a poor experience for
patients and staff. Supporting the NHS
to tackle this is a priority for NHS IQ. We recognise that to do this requires a
collaborative approach, to connect and work with partners from across the
emergency care landscape to deliver targeted and tailored local support, along
with large scale system-wide change in primary, community and secondary care.
Emergency and urgent care improvement programme
in the setting of seven day services
The emerging principles from the urgent and emergency care review underpin the NHS
IQ improvement offer to support the delivery of models of care across England that:
• Provide consistently high quality and safe care across seven days of the week
• Are simple and guide good choices by patients and clinicians
• Provide the right care in the right place, by those with the right skills the first time.
What is NHS IQ already doing to help?
2
NHS Improving Quality (NHS IQ): how can we help?
Improving accident and emergency
care: a system wide issue

3. NHS IQ will lead a three year improvement
programme for seven day services across England
for both emergency and elective care. This
programme consists of three key improvement
priorities; spreading existing and emerging
practice, developing new models of delivery and
whole system change across England.
The proposal takes a collaborative approach bringing together a strong representation
of key stakeholders. NHS IQ will support the patient and public engagement strategy
for seven day services.
The outcomes of the urgent and emergency care review will be aligned and integrated
into the seven day services improvement programme.
3
A programme for CCGs to build capability to innovate, improve
and transform systems and services
Available now and funded for all CCGs, NHS Improving Quality's CCG transformational
change capability building programme will accelerate progress on identified local
priorities e.g. urgent care, long-term conditions, integration etc. Typically the programme
will be delivered locally over a six to nine month period, with focused learning
interventions for CCGs and their commissioning partners through a series of seven one-
day workshops:
• A multi-level approach with action focused inputs, facilitated networking and web
resources in between workshops to help application of learning
• Delivery of evidence-based learning and proven tools, techniques and thinking by an
experienced faculty of GPs, commissioning leaders and improvement experts.
At the end of the programme, each participating CCG will have:
• More rapid and assured progress on their key priorities
• Built sustainable new team and system capabilities
• Accelerated successful patient-focused change at scale and pace
• Deepened local strategic partnerships through the creation of effective shared purpose
• Developed its evidence to demonstrate competence against a number of elements
of the assurance process.
More information is available at: www.nhsiq.nhs.uk/capacity-capability/ccg-capability

4. 4
@NHSIQwww.nhsiq.nhs.uk
To find out more about NHS IQ and our work in emergency
care or to work with us to help deliver sustainable change:
Published by: NHS Improving Quality - Publication date: July 2013 - Review date: July 2014
© NHS Improving Quality (2013). All rights reserved. Please note that this product or material must not be used for the
purposes of financial or commercial gain, including, without limitation, sale of the products or materials to any person.
Improving health outcomes across England by
providing improvement and change expertise
Email: enquiries@nhsiq.nhs.uk
Tools and resources
NHS IQ is creating a repository of effective tools, resources, guidance and research to
help drive improvements in emergency care. This will include signposts to the latest
national and international research, guidance and tools from partners such as the
College of Emergency Medicine, the medical Royal Colleges, the Royal College of
Nursing, academic institutions, the Kings Fund, the Emergency Care Intensive
Support Team (ECIST), the Primary Care Foundation and the NHS Alliance.
Where local commissioners and providers see it as a priority, we will support
organisations to effectively use improvement tools and resources to address local
issues, which may include:
• Directories, such as the ‘Directory of Ambulatory Emergency Care for Adults’
highlighting conditions that can be managed without an overnight hospital stay
• Reports and guidance documents, such as the 'Whole system approach to improving
emergency and urgent care for children and young people guide' and ‘Emergency
and urgent cancer care’
• Collections of best practice case studies such as ‘Equality for all: Delivering safe care
– seven days a week’ giving examples of service delivery models on admission
avoidance and improving patient flow from A&E
• Service improvement tools that can help prevent unnecessary hospital admissions.
NHS IQ continues to support a range of online tools developed by our predecessor
organisations. For further details, email: enquiries@nhsiq.nhs.uk
Practical help and support
NHS IQ hosts NHS Interim Management and Support (NHS IMAS). The Emergency
Care Intensive Support Team (ECIST) sits within NHS IMAS and offers expert
consultancy and improvement support in urgent and emergency care to commissioners
and providers. For more information, go to: www.nhsimas.nhs.uk/what-we-can-
offer/intensive-support-team
What else can NHS IQ do to help?