Today, we have released a new Modern outpatient care guide which stresses the need to make planned, specialist care pathways more sustainable for the future.
We have worked with a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including the Patients Association, NHS England, medical and surgical specialist organisations, operational teams, primary care, think tanks, and resident doctors, to reframe the purpose of outpatient care and understand what we want the future of outpatient care to look like.
This guide provides practical principles for efficient and effective outpatient care and includes clinic template recommendations which we hope will support local and regional clinical teams.
Dr John Dean, clinical vice president for the RCP, said ‘To meet the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s patients, the future of outpatients will be different than traditional models. Teams are already working differently. This guide is based on best practice and guides clinical leaders, managers and patients on how we can implement the best use of our current resources, while we continue to work on more radical redesign of healthcare systems.’
Dr Theresa Barnes, RCP clinical lead for outpatients, said ‘I am delighted to have represented the RCP and worked with such a varied group of stakeholders to make this guide a reality. I hope that organisations will use this guide to implement best practice and deliver high quality outpatient care’.
The RCP will set out its vision in early 2025 for what reformed planned specialist care should look like, bringing together varied expertise, evidence, and the important experience and expectations of patients.
- Read Modern outpatient care - using resources to add value, an implementation guide for local and regional teams.
- Please visit Medical Care – driving change for more information and resources related to our work in this area, including a blog from Dr Theresa Barnes.