Patients across Surrey and Frimley South are set to benefit from the launch of two multi-disciplinary clinical hubs.

The virtual Unscheduled Care Navigation Hubs (UNCHs) will see South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) work more closely in partnership with hospital and community trusts across the county to ensure patients receive the appropriate response, first time and reduce emergency department attendances.

The two virtual hubs, covering East and West Surrey (with West including Frimley South), will enable SECAmb’s Advanced Paramedic Practitioners (APPs) from the Tongham, Chertsey, Banstead, and Gatwick Operating Units to work remotely with senior clinicians across the Surrey and Frimley Integrated Care Systems (ICS). Together, they will discuss appropriate care for patients awaiting an ambulance response.

They are two of five additional hubs SECAmb has been working on with its four ICSs and provider trusts, to set up across the Kent, Surrey and Sussex region this year.

With SECAmb’s clinicians working through the Surrey Single Point of Access (SPOA), speaking to community and hospital specialists, rapid decision making can take place, helping to reduce unnecessary emergency department visits.

When necessary, the APPs can quickly refer patients to services such as Frailty Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) units or Virtual Wards, enhancing the speed and quality of care delivery.

The introduction of the hubs, along with an overall increase in partnership working, is key to ensuring SECAmb delivers on its five-year strategy. In its clinically-led strategy, launched in August, SECAmb set out its ambition to embrace new technologies and transition from a predominantly ambulance-based response model to a more differentiated approach, where the type of response is tailored to the individual needs of each patient.

The hubs build on successful trials conducted in Kent and Medway over the past year, which have helped arrange appropriate care for patients, avoiding thousands of unnecessary emergency department attendances.

In addition to the five new hubs, SECAmb operates two UCNHs in Ashford and Paddock Wood covering east and west Kent. In its first year in operation, the hub in Paddock Wood helped avoid more than 1,200 emergency department admissions.

Partner working with SECAmb and Frimley and Surrey ICBs in the hubs:

West Surrey UCNH

  • Royal Surrey Foundation Trust
  • Ashford and St.Peter’s Hospitals Foundation Trust
  • Central Surrey Health
  • Frimley Health Foundation Trust

East Surrey UCNH

  • Surrey & Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
  • First Community Health and Care
  • Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust
  • Surrey Downs Health and Care Partnership

Guildford Operating Unit Manager Phil Brown said: “The virtual hubs are key to ensuring patients receive the right response, first time. By doing this we can free up our ambulance crews to respond to our most seriously ill and injured patients. This model also helps us reduce the demand on local emergency departments, getting patients the right care, first time. We are looking forward to further strengthening our links with partners across our local health system to benefit patients.”

Dr Steve Dunn, Director of Delivery and Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response at NHS Frimley, said: “We’re delighted to welcome the introduction of virtual clinical hubs by our colleagues at South East Coast Ambulance Service and we’re excited by the improvements the hubs will bring to wider emergency care services. They will have an immediate positive impact for many of our most vulnerable residents and as the hubs develop they will bring increasing benefits to the whole of our population, who will be able to access the most appropriate services for their needs more quickly.”

Katy Neal, Director of System Integration and Strategic Ambulance Commissioning at Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care System added: “We want our patients to get the right help in the right place as quickly as possible so it’s great news the clinical hubs will be operational in Surrey, at a time when we know services are busier, as we move into winter. We will continue to develop and enhance this way of working, through closer collaboration with partners and ambulance teams to help people get the support they need from the right service, avoiding long waits and unnecessary visits to hospital.”