Description
A practical guide to improving the sleep pathwayThe 2021 GIRFT national specialty report for Respiratory medicine1 identified substantial variation in the delivery of sleep medicine across the National Health Service (NHS). NHS England (NHSE) data2 demonstrates rising numbers of referrals to sleep services, and a significant backlog following the pandemic. There are a number of barriers to the recovery of outpatient services, including sleep medicine, and workforce is a particular challenge: The 2022 British Thoracic Society Workforce Report3 highlighted staffing issues across the NHS, and the NHS Long Term Plan4 identified workforce development as an area for focus.
A NHSE outpatient transformation workstream was commissioned to design an optimal sleep pathway, in order to modernise and improve the patient pathway. The group consisted of a broad range of healthcare professionals, representing all of those involved in the delivery of sleep medicine, alongside patient representatives and members of national organisations, including the British Sleep Society and the Association for Respiratory Technology and Physiology. Focus groups were held with patients and primary care representatives, and a range of case studies were captured, in order to share real world insights into solutions developed by different services across the country.
The working group identified exemplars of good practice and guidance on service improvement, aligned with Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) aims5 the NHS Long Term Plan4 commitments to increase support to primary care, deliver care closer to home and to assist with post-pandemic recovery and with NHSE goals for referral optimisation and increasing patient initiated follow up.6 It is hoped that this guide will facilitate progress towards improved outcomes and experiences for patients with sleep disorders.
| Period | 13 Feb 2025 |
|---|---|
| Degree of Recognition | National |